For the Dawn
by Mirianne
Summary: Shortly before Naruto and Jiraiya were due to return to Konoha from the training trip, Itachi kidnaps Naruto and takes him back to Ame. When Naruto wakes up, he finds that Akatsuki has an offer for him that is very difficult to refuse and that there is more to these enemies than he had known. Naruto/Itachi


Title: For the Dawn

Author: Mirianne

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Pairing: Naruto/Itachi

Summary: Shortly before Naruto and Jiraiya were due to return to Konoha from the training trip, Itachi kidnaps Naruto and takes him back to Ame. When Naruto wakes up, he finds that Akatsuki has an offer for him that is very difficult to refuse and that there is more to these enemies than he had known. Naruto/Itachi

* * *

When Uzumaki Naruto was fifteen years old, Uchiha Itachi tracked him to a border town, waited for Jiraiya to wander off, captured Naruto in a genjutsu, and slipped away with him. It was easy; Jiraiya was too confident in his own abilities and their anonymity, and Naruto was weak against genjutsu. Itachi had planned thoroughly and acted carefully. By the time Jiraiya discovered Naruto gone, Itachi was most of the way back to Ame. Kisame joined Itachi when they crossed the border into Ame and guarded them the rest of the way.

Naruto woke in a luxurious room with a seal cuff on his wrist that cut him off from his chakra but no other restraints. A moment later, he discovered why; Itachi was leaning against the wall, in a patch of shadow.

"Itachi!" Naruto yelped. "What the hell is going on?"

"Naruto-kun." Itachi stepped out of his shadows and knelt at the side of the bed. "You are in Amegakure, where the leader of Akatsuki rules."

"So, what? You want the Kyuubi? I'll fight you!"

"Not precisely," Itachi said. "The situation with Akatsuki is more complicated than you, perhaps, realize. And at the moment, you would be fighting without chakra. Will you do me the courtesy of listening to me? We have an offer for you."

"You're a murderer! Why should I listen to anything you have to say?"

"What else are you going to do right now? What harm does it do to listen to what I have to say?"

Naruto folded his arms and scowled. "Fine. But I'm still on Sasuke's side."

"Your loyalty to my little brother is commendable, if perhaps foolish. First, there are two leaders to Akatsuki, the public one and the hidden one. The hidden leader is Uchiha Madara, who wants to gather all the tailed beasts and use them to rule the world. We cooperate to with him to a point, but the public leader is working to neutralize him. Most of us follow him, not Madara. Leader is trying to create peace. Originally, he intended to do so by showing the world how horrifying war is, what pain it causes. He has rethought that plan and is trying to explore other options. Jinchuuriki can cause a great deal of damage, especially mistreated ones. Think your friend Sabaku no Gaara. So Leader has been investigating jinchuuriki. He chose to offer you a place and a home here."

"I'll never betray Konoha!" Naruto snapped.

"We ask that you give us a month, Naruto-kun. Give us a month to show you what we are doing, to learn our reasons. You would be respected and treated like a person here. If you give us your word not to attack anyone or try to escape, I will take that sealing bracelet off and train you. You are permitted to go anywhere, so long as I am with you."

"Why you? If your Leader is trying to make such a great impression, I'd think he'd choose anyone but the person who massacred my best friend's family."

"Partially, it is because I am undergoing medical treatment right now and cannot undertake any long term missions, but mostly, it is to do you honor."

"What do you mean?"

"I am the second in command of Akatsuki and one of our most powerful, Naruto-kun, and I am assigned directly to you for the duration of your time here. I will do most anything you ask of me while you stay here."

Naruto was surprised and stared down at Itachi, who still knelt beside the bed. Itachi didn't seem to be lying. Still, Itachi was a monster. . . "I'm guessing telling you to drag Sasuke back to Konoha and let him kill you isn't included."

Itachi actually laughed softly and louder at the astonishment on Naruto's face. "No. Nor will I let you go or take you back to Konoha to stay. And Konoha would not execute me anyway."

"What the hell do you mean! You're up there with Orochimaru as Konoha's most infamous missing nin!"

"Because there is more to the story of the massacre than you know. They would not execute me, though they also would not tell the truth if they had a way out." Not particularly wishing to delve into the history of the massacre, Itachi changed the subject. "If you wish, we can retrieve my foolish little brother from Orochimaru while you stay here. He can wait out the month you stay with us, and you can decide whether or not to take him with you back to Konoha at the end of the month."

"What happens at the end of the month?"

"If you choose not to stay with us, you will be free to go. I will escort you back to Suna or Konoha myself, if that is your choice. We will be disappointed, but we will not keep you against your will longer than the month. Keep in mind, however, that we are able and willing to offer you a great deal if you join us."

Naruto looked away, trying to think. He'd been working for years to get Sasuke back. Now the last person he would have expected was offering a way to get Sasuke out of Orochimaru's hands. If Itachi was to be believed, all Naruto had to do was give them a month to try to recruit him. He could stand the Akatsuki for a month, if it meant getting Sasuke back. "If you are telling the truth, if you help me get Sasuke back, I will give you the month," he said. Was he betraying Konoha? If it meant getting Sasuke back, he wasn't sure he cared. "When can we go get Sasuke?"

"Your word of honor first, Naruto-kun. You are not the type of person to break your word."

"I give you my word of honor that I will not attempt to escape or attack anyone for one month, provided that you have told me the truth, that you help me get Sasuke back from Orochimaru, and that no one harms or attacks me outside of sparring. Sasuke?"

Itachi smiled a little. Naruto did have an admirable degree of focus for things he really cared about. "First, I will train you for a week. Then we go to Oto."

Reluctantly, Naruto agreed.

Itachi stood. "If you permit, I will remove the chakra suppression bracelet."

"What do you mean, if I permit?" Naruto demanded.

"I told you, Naruto-kun. For as long as you stay here with us, I am at your command, within the limitations set by Leader."

"But you're still calling me Naruto-kun!" It was what Itachi had always called him.

"Would you prefer I call you Naruto-sama?" Itachi asked, face expressionless.

Hearing the title in Itachi's soft, poisonous voice, Naruto made a face. "Ugh. No, that's too weird."

"For me as well," Itachi agreed. "Shall I remove the sealing bracelet?"

Eager to get access to his chakra back and to test if Akatsuki was really going to follow through on the promises Itachi had made, Naruto held out his arm and watched Itachi channel chakra into the bracelet. It separated and fell to the bed in two pieces. Immediately, Naruto felt some of his energy coming back as his access to chakra returned.

"I will bring you something to eat," Itachi said. "After that, you should sleep. Tomorrow, you will meet Leader, and I will start training you." Itachi rose gracefully to his feet and frowned down at Naruto. "As I said, you will be permitted to go anywhere when I am with you. However, when I am not with you, you need to stay here or with Leader. Kisame is at the door to make sure you are safe and to ensure you stay here."

Naruto nodded. That made sense; he was a potential enemy, his word given or not. "All right, Itachi." He relaxed back against the pillows when Itachi left the room. Naruto had no intention of doing anything to jeopardize his chance of getting Sasuke back. Besides, the idea of training with someone as powerful and skilled as Itachi was incredibly tempting, even if Itachi was a monster. And Itachi was not acting like a monster. Naruto had gotten a lot more perceptive while with Jiraiya, learning to tap into instincts he'd gotten growing up alone and disliked by most of Konoha. He'd looked into Itachi's eyes, and he hadn't seen a monster who would slaughter his family to 'test his capacity.' He'd seen a little real grief, though very well hidden, when Itachi talked about Sasuke. It was enough that Naruto was willing to believe there was more to the massacre.

Itachi ate with Naruto, at Naruto's insistence, and left him to sleep while Sasori replaced Kisame at Naruto's door. Itachi made very sure Sasori understood that nothing and no one was to harm Naruto, including Sasori. If Naruto tried to leave, Sasori was to summon Itachi immediately. If it was necessary, Sasori was to incapacitate Naruto without harming him. If Naruto asked for Itachi, Sasori was to summon him immediately. Sasori tolerated the lecture with admirable patience.

The next morning, Itachi arrived at Naruto's rooms with a tray of breakfast for two, correctly expecting Naruto to insist Itachi eat with him again. Naruto was already up and had apparently found the clothes they'd bought for him, as he was dressed in clean clothes. Itachi was sure he was sulking about the lack of orange.

After breakfast, Itachi escorted Naruto to the leader's office at the top of the tower. He bowed deeply to the leader and took up a guard position by the door while Naruto sat before the desk. Itachi was surprised to see that the leader was meeting Naruto with his real body but kept his thoughts to himself.

"Welcome to Amegakure, Uzumaki Naruto," the leader said. "My name is Uzumaki Nagato. We are cousins of a sort."

"We're family?" Naruto asked softly. The thought of sharing blood, of having family, touched a part of him he thought was long healed, or at least scarred over. Naruto knew nothing about his family. Here was someone who claimed to be related to him.

"The Uzumaki clan has been nearly destroyed," Nagato said. "We are some of the few members left. I do not know precisely how we are related, but blood tests could go some way to finding out. While you are here, if you like, I will take the time to teach you about our clan, some of our techniques. I do not have the time to train you as Itachi will, as I rule here and lead Akatsuki, but I can make some time."

"Is the blood tie why you're offering me a place here?"

"It is certainly part of the reason. Like you, I have had no blood family for years and have made my own family. However, I have also offered you a place here because of your power, skill, and potential. All things that are not being recognized by Konoha."

Naruto stared at Nagato, at a complete loss for what to say.

"I have shocked you," Nagato said. "Think about what I have told you. Itachi can bring you to me if you wish to speak to me or have questions." He turned to Itachi. "Take good care of him," he ordered.

Itachi bowed again. "Yes, Leader-sama." He escorted Naruto from the leader's office and down to the training course they would be using.

"First, I want to discuss something with you," Itachi said.

"All right," Naruto said and sat down on a rock. He frowned when Itachi knelt across from him. Honorifics or not, Itachi was acting so carefully respectful. It made Naruto uncomfortable.

"By the time I left Konoha," they both seemed content to ignore what 'left' was a euphemism for, "your skills in traps, evasion, tracking, and stealth were already at chuunin level. I don't believe you would have gotten worse after I left. You enjoyed pranking ANBU too much for that. Why do you never use those skills when you fight?"

Naruto frowned. He'd never thought to apply those skills to fighting. They were just for pranking, for fun. "They aren't fighting skills," he said. "I mean, it's not proper fighting."

"Of course they're fighting skills. The best way to win a battle isn't necessarily to charge in throwing punches and jutsu." Itachi frowned, considering the best way to explain. "If you were fighting Orochimaru, you could not defeat him head on. He is too powerful and has too much experience. But what if you led him into a trap? You could weaken him, perhaps kill him, without leaving yourself vulnerable to his techniques. Your kage bunshin technique is ideal for this sort of fighting style. You can have a hundred clones setting up a hundred traps. I remember one trap you got a member of my ANBU team with, a drop of glue and feathers. Imagine if you dropped poison or acid instead of glue and feathers."

Naruto frowned. "It doesn't seem like a very honorable way to fight."

"Do you remember your chuunin exam? What were you expected to do to answer the questions?"

"Cheat," Naruto said. "How do you know that?"

"I'm a genjutsu master. I was there. I watched the whole exam." He'd watched but hadn't been in time to interfere when Orochimaru attacked. "Would you rather fight honorably and lose against an opponent like Orochimaru or play to your strengths and win?" Itachi waited a second for Naruto to consider what Itachi had said. "You are very good at tactical thinking, making plans on the spot, coming up with the unexpected during a fight. That would work very well with trapping and evasion skills, as well as stealth. You can hide from ANBU. That means you can sneak up on very good ninjas and attack before they see you. Or trap spaces that they think are secure and sit back and watch."

So they started working. For the first half of the morning, they sparred, with Itachi pushing Naruto to use skills that he had put aside as being improper for a real ninja when he made genin but was very good at. With Itachi pushing him, he started figuring out how to turn those skills deadly. Or at least potentially deadly, since he didn't want to kill Itachi at the moment. For the second half of the morning, Itachi worked on more standard fighting skills with Naruto, starting with genjutsu. With a focused, determined teacher who had no other students or distractions, Naruto made rapid progress.

Every other afternoon, Nagato made time to spend two hours teaching Naruto clan techniques. He focused on seals at first, something Naruto had learned the basics of from Jiraiya, but Uzumaki sealing was so much easier to understand. And it fit so well with the style of fighting Itachi was pushing Naruto to learn. Naruto found himself liking Nagato, almost against his will. The man had some odd ideas, but Naruto could agree with a lot of his basic ideology. Nagato treated Naruto like family and was remarkably patient with him.

The week passed very rapidly, and it was time to go to Oto. Nagato summoned them to his office before they left to reaffirm the mission and bid them safe travels on their way.

Finally, Naruto followed Itachi and Kisame out of Ame's tower. They were dressed in Akatsuki garb. Naruto simply wore black, including a scarf to cover his hair and a black mask to hide his face. If he was going to go back to Konoha at the end of the month, something that was harder to think about with how much he was starting to like Nagato and even Itachi, he didn't want to be seen cooperating with two S-class missing nin. Itachi didn't bother with a mask or even the hat Akatsuki members sometimes used. He wanted to be recognized. After all, he had defeated Orochimaru before; no matter what the snake said, he was afraid of Itachi. With his and Kisame's reputations, people would stay out of their way, even in Oto.

Naruto was pleased to notice that Itachi appeared to know exactly where they were going. They walked straight to gates into a cave system in the mountain. Two Sound nin were standing guard, and they were not happy to have two recognizable S-class nin at the gates with a third person who Itachi and Kisame trusted at their backs. It meant he was almost certainly another S-class.

"Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. You are not welcome here," one of the guards managed.

Itachi looked at both guards with burning Sharingan eyes. They weren't even smart enough to avoid meeting his gaze. Given that there was a Sharingan user living in Oto, they certainly ought to know better. Itachi was not impressed. "Inform Orochimaru that we are here. He has one hour to hand over my brother. If he does not, we will retrieve Sasuke ourselves."

Naruto stared in amazement. This was not what he'd expected when Itachi had agreed to get Sasuke away from Orochimaru. Just giving an ultimatum and expecting to be obeyed. It emphasized just how powerful Itachi was. And even though Kisame was there and deadly and much more obviously threatening, Itachi was the one people with sense were more afraid of.

The guards exchanged looks before one of them bolted through the gate. She sent several more guards back to reinforce her partner and headed for Orochimaru at a dead run. She found him training Sasuke and burst in on them.

"Uchiha Itachi is here," she gasped, dropping to her knees. "Orochimaru-sama, Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame, and a masked person are at the gates," she said when she'd caught her breath.

"Itachi is here?" Sasuke demanded. He started for the gate immediately, but Orochimaru grabbed him.

"What does Akatsuki want at my gates?" Orochimaru asked his guard. "Wait," he told Sasuke. "Hear what she has to say."

"He wants Sasuke-sama," she said. "He said you have an hour to hand his brother over. If you don't, he will come in and retrieve Sasuke-sama personally."

Orochimaru suppressed a wince. Even with all his followers, the numbers and quality of which had not recovered from the invasion of Konoha, he doubted he could stop Itachi from taking what he wanted. Itachi wouldn't have gotten any weaker since he'd defeated Orochimaru.

"Let me go!" Sasuke demanded. "I'm going to kill him!"

Reluctantly, Orochimaru complied, though he sincerely doubted Sasuke would be killing Itachi anytime soon. If Sasuke went charging out the gate, Orochimaru wouldn't have to fight anyone. He'd either have to figure out a way to retrieve Sasuke or pick a new body. He followed at a slower pace but still got to the gate in time to see Itachi catch Sasuke in a genjutsu, seemingly without effort.

"So disappointing," Orochimaru murmured. He was smart enough to keep his eyes away from Itachi entirely. Even that wouldn't be enough to keep him out of a genjutsu if Itachi wanted him in one, but it would help and limit the techniques Itachi could use.

"Your teaching lacks something," Itachi said to Orochimaru.

Orochimaru ignored the criticism with all the dignity he could summon; his student had, after all, just fallen to a sleep genjutsu. With Sharingan active. This was not the sign of a brilliant student. Granted, Itachi had been weaving the illusion and was widely acknowledged as a genjutsu master with or without the Sharingan, but still. "What causes your sudden interest?" Orochimaru asked. "Last I heard, you still thought he was too foolish and weak to be bothered with."

"I have discovered a use for him," Itachi said. "Do you intend to fight me?"

Orochimaru could feel Itachi's chakra seeping through the air. Of course, he was no rank genin to be intimidated by such tricks, but it was a reminder that the boy, barely twenty and built pretty rather than strong or handsome, was a real threat. "Not at the moment," he said and returned back to his base to torture someone for the loss of his latest project. If Itachi had a use for Sasuke, Orochimaru wouldn't be getting Sasuke back soon. Perhaps not at all.

They were over the border and into Nagato's country when they stopped to camp for the night. Kisame set Sasuke against a tree and passed a scroll to Itachi, who unsealed two bracelets and a collar that looked very familiar to Naruto, though more complex than the bracelet he'd been wearing the first day he woke up in Ame.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

"We will accept your word because you are well known for keeping it. My little brother is not so trustworthy, even if he would give his word. I do not feel like fighting with him all the way back to Amegakure. Or leaving him in a constant genjutsu." Itachi clasped the bracelets on each of Sasuke's wrists and leaned forward to place the collar around Sasuke's neck. With the seals placed and active, Itachi searched Sasuke for weapons and took everything he found, his hands surprisingly gentle for someone Naruto knew had tortured Sasuke on at least two occasions. It was another inconsistency between Itachi's reputation and what Naruto had seen since coming to Ame. Itachi was even careful to leave Sasuke in a fairly comfortable position against the tree before he joined Kisame in making supper. Naruto did what Itachi permitted to help but mostly kept an eye on Sasuke.

When supper was ready, Itachi returned to Sasuke. "Wake up, little brother."

Sasuke jolted awake, already furious, and tried to activate his Sharingan before he even took in his surroundings. Then he yelped and clutched at his eyes as they burned.

"I wouldn't recommend trying to use your Sharingan," Itachi said. "I've sealed your chakra, and trying to use Sharingan with sealed chakra is painful. Repeated attempts may do damage to your eyes." His words were partly directed to Naruto, knowing Naruto would be worried.

"I am. Going. To _kill_ you, Itachi," Sasuke managed.

"I don't think so," Itachi said softly. "At least not for another three and a half weeks."

Sasuke's eyes had stopped burning enough for him to open them and glare at Itachi. "What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"I do not think you will be able to kill me without chakra or your bloodline," Itachi said. "And I have no intention of unsealing you until the agreed time period is over. No harm will come to you while you are in our care unless you attack us. That doesn't mean we will make it easy for you to attack us."

"What agreed upon time period? What do you _want_ with me?"

"Akatsuki has a contract. We retrieve you from Orochimaru, hold onto you for the designated time period, and hand you over to our-client at the end of it."

"What, so Konoha's making deals with Akatsuki and one of their most notorious missing nin now? I didn't think even Naruto could be that stupid." Movement across the clearing drew Sasuke's eyes to the one figure he couldn't identify in time to see Naruto remove the black mask.

"They made an offer I didn't want to refuse," Naruto said.

Sasuke stared at Naruto in stunned disbelief. He'd been trying to provoke a fight, not being serious. He had never expected to see Naruto traveling, to all appearances willingly, with two Akatsuki members, particularly not the two that had tried to abduct him. Sasuke could see that Naruto was armed and appeared to have full access to his chakra. Sasuke turned his glare back on Itachi, who was frowning at him with Sharingan eyes.

"Don't provoke him, Itachi," Naruto said quietly.

Sasuke scowled, trying to hide his astonishment as his older brother bowed his head to Naruto without a word of protest. The astonishment grew as Sasuke watched Itachi quietly tend to Naruto's needs and watch Naruto's back. Itachi's behavior went beyond a dutiful ninja's care of his client, and Sasuke didn't understand it. Still, he had no intention of asking while Itachi was standing there.

Sasuke was not as successful at hiding what he was thinking and feeling as he thought, at least not from Itachi. He'd kept an eye on his brother since they'd made camp, whatever else he was doing, and he'd never lost the ability to understand Sasuke. Sasuke's astonishment left Itachi amused, though the amusement was tainted, just like all emotions between the brothers seemed to be since the massacre.

When Sasuke refused the plate of supper Itachi brought him, Naruto scowled at him. "Don't be an idiot, Sasuke. He doesn't need to drug or poison you."

"He didn't need to massacre my family, either, so forgive me if I think that what he needs to do doesn't necessarily have much to do with what he will do!"

"Yes, I did," Itachi said.

"What?"

"Yes, I did have to kill our family." Itachi leaned forward and sampled everything he'd put on Sasuke's plate. "There's nothing in your food, so eat."

Sullenly, Sasuke obeyed. He was not going to ask what Itachi had meant, not again. Besides, he wasn't sure there was any explanation Itachi could give that Sasuke would believe; Itachi was too good a liar. He glared at the plate and did his best to ignore everyone, including Naruto.

After they ate, Naruto started to lay out his bedroll next to Sasuke when Itachi protested. "Kisame will sleep next to Sasuke. You'll sleep next to me."

"Why?"

"I can be sure I will not attack you during the night. I cannot be sure of that with my brother."

"But he's my best friend!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the fact that Naruto didn't argue about being safe with Itachi. He had a lot of questions about what was going on between his best friend and Akatsuki.

"He has tried to kill you before, Naruto-kun. I am responsible for your safety."

Naruto sighed. That put the issue outside the limitations of Itachi's obedience as set by Nagato, so Naruto wouldn't even try giving orders to get his way. It wouldn't work. "Fine. He's not going to kill me while you're watching, so give us a minute to talk with you on the other side of the clearing."

Itachi hesitated, not liking to leave Naruto with someone who had tried to kill him, even if that someone was Itachi's younger brother, but he eventually obeyed. Sasuke was without chakra or weapons, leaving him with taijutsu. Naruto could probably defeat him without assistance. Even if Naruto couldn't, Sasuke wouldn't be able to kill Naruto before Itachi could get to them and interfere.

"No one is going to hurt you," Naruto told Sasuke. "That includes Itachi. I made a contract with them to retrieve you from Orochimaru. If they hurt you, unless you have attacked them or tried to do something they've forbidden, they lose their contract with me."

"And what do they want from you so badly that it guarantees my safety? Don't tell me you agreed to let them extract the demon in exchange for kidnapping me."

"No, they don't want the Kyuubi." Naruto wasn't surprised that Sasuke knew, though he was worried about what Sasuke thought about his jinchuuriki status. But that wasn't what they were talking about. "They're attempting to recruit me. They wanted me to give them a month-long trial, and Itachi offered to retrieve you if I agreed."

"So that's why Itachi is catering to you? That's why he's so determined to protect you, even from me?"

Naruto nodded. "Their leader assigned Itachi to me for the duration of the month. He acts as escort and guard and is also responsible for making sure I have everything I need." Naruto didn't mention that Itachi had been training him, not wanting to get into that potential argument that night. There would be time later.

Sasuke shook his head. "Go away, Dobe."

"Fine, Bastard. I just wanted you to know it's safe for you to sleep."

That might be, but Sasuke wasn't as trusting as Naruto. He didn't think he'd sleep that night unless Itachi put another genjutsu on him to make him.

Sasuke got more proof at how well Naruto and Akatsuki were cooperating when Naruto took one watch that night while Itachi and Kisame took the other two. They were supposed to be enemies, but the two Akatsuki were trusting Naruto to guard them. Naruto might be a trusting idiot, but Itachi and Kisame weren't. They couldn't be; they'd both been missing nin for years, meaning they'd had to deal with hunters.

When they reached the tower, Kisame went to meet with Nagato, and Itachi started to drag Sasuke away. Sasuke was cooperating just enough to avoid provoking Itachi into casting another genjutsu, which Itachi knew perfectly well, though he didn't comment.

"Where are you taking him?" Naruto asked.

"To a room where I can lock him in. It won't be a cell," he added at Naruto's dismayed expression. "Even with his chakra sealed, we cannot trust him not to try to escape or attack. That means he needs to be confined."

"Can't you confine him in my rooms, then?" Naruto asked.

Itachi hesitated, considering the request. Naruto's rooms were set up to hold someone already, in case Naruto hadn't immediately agreed to Akatsuki's offer. "If he stays, so do I," he said. "I know you would rather trust him than me, but Leader charged me with your safety. Your choice."

Naruto shrugged. "You've had plenty of chances to hurt me while I sleep."

"Do I get a say in this?" Sasuke demanded.

"No, you do not," Itachi said. "Let's go."

Sasuke fought him. "I don't want to share a room with you!" he snapped.

"Tell me, little brother. Since you are convinced I am an insane murderer, why do you think I care what you want?"

"You _are_ an insane murderer!"

Itachi hid a wince and was surprised that Naruto caught it. He wasn't used to anyone being able to read him, and Naruto barely knew him. "That is as may be, but if you don't start walking, I'll put you back to sleep and carry you." Itachi's soft, poisonous voice didn't change to reflect his exasperation with his brother's stubbornness, but again, Naruto seemed able to identify what Itachi felt.

"Come on, Bastard," Naruto said. "He isn't going to hurt you." He'd talk to Itachi later about actually telling Sasuke the real story of the massacre. Naruto didn't know it, but he'd seen enough in the last week to believe Itachi had had a reason, probably a very good one.

Sasuke transferred his glare from Itachi to Naruto but started walking. He was starting to believe that Itachi wouldn't hurt him as long as the Akatsuki had something they wanted from Naruto, but that didn't mean he wanted to be anywhere near his older brother.

In Naruto's rooms, Itachi activated seals around the door and windows and took out another seal bracelet. "Either you let me put this on you or I'll use a genjutsu on you and put it on you while you're unconscious," he told Sasuke.

"What does it do?"

"It interacts with the seals around the door and windows to create barriers that will keep you from leaving the suite. That way Naruto and I can come and go as needed without worrying that you'll escape."

Sasuke sighed and held out his arm. He did not want to give Itachi excuses to use illusions on him. He had nightmares about what Itachi had shown him already; he didn't need a refresher course.

"I'll get someone to bring in two futons," Itachi said. "Naruto-kun, please come with me. Leader will want to see you." And Itachi wasn't leaving Naruto alone with Sasuke. Besides, Itachi was sure Naruto wanted to talk to him without Sasuke listening, so this would give them a chance.

"Need anything, Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, get these off me and let me go!" He tugged furiously at the collar.

"Bastard," Naruto muttered and followed Itachi from the room without another word.

They checked in with Nagato, Naruto happy to see his cousin again, but didn't stay long. Nagato was busy with his paperwork and said he'd catch up with Naruto when they had clan lessons the next afternoon.

Itachi started to escort Naruto from the room, but Nagato called them back. "Itachi, it's time. We have offered our proof of good intentions. Tell him and show him what you found."

"Yes, Leader-sama," Itachi said.

Naruto frowned at Itachi as they walked down from Nagato's office. "Tell me what?"

"Later, please, Naruto-kun. I need to make arrangements for my brother and me to stay in your rooms. Also, I believe there was something you wish to discuss with me?" He opened the door to his own suite of rooms and invited Naruto inside. He walked over to his drawers and started to pull out the clothing he'd bought for Sasuke before they left for Oto.

"You really love him, don't you?" Naruto asked. All the shirts had the Uchiha symbol on them, just like the clothes Sasuke had worn in Konoha. The styles also matched, with slight alterations for an older teen. It was rather telling that Itachi had kept a closer eye on Sasuke than most had realized.

"He is my little brother," Itachi said. "I may think him a fool, but I still love him."

"Were you supposed to kill him as well?"

Itachi looked sharply at Naruto. "You're smarter than anyone realizes." He'd realized that, better than most people in Konoha, but he was still surprised Naruto was putting together the pieces of the massacre. "I begged for his life and was permitted to leave him alive."

"Sandaime always did have a soft spot for children."

"Yes, he did. If you know everything else, do you know why they gave me the order?"

Naruto studied Itachi, considered what he would have been like at thirteen. "To stop a war."

Itachi bowed his head over the clothes, the Sharingan fading from his eyes for a moment as he remembered. He would never have the ability to forget what he'd done that night; his Sharingan made sure the massacre was burned into his memory.

"Was it worth it?"

"Yes." His hands were still steady as he gathered some of his own things. He'd had years to come to terms with what he'd done, years to accept that there was no redemption for him. "To stop a fourth war, it was more than worth it. I'd do it again." Doing it again would probably destroy him completely, but he would do it.

"Maybe don't tell Sasuke that part when you tell him the rest."

"Am I telling him the rest, Naruto-kun?"

Again, Itachi's voice didn't change, but Naruto could see amusement in Itachi's dark eyes before he blinked and they went back to red. "That is, obviously, up to you," Naruto said. "I had thought you intended to, since you told him you had to kill them. You don't do much of anything without a reason."

"You can command me to tell him, Naruto-kun. That is not outside the limitations Leader set, so I will obey." Itachi wanted that explicit between them. In truth, very little was outside those limitations. Itachi didn't think Naruto realized how much power he held, knew Naruto didn't realize the exact nature of Itachi's assignment. Naruto assumed, and had told Sasuke, that Itachi's assignment would be over at the end of the month, whatever Naruto decided. He was wrong. Itachi had told Naruto several times that he would be at Naruto's command for as long as Naruto stayed in Ame. Naruto had probably missed that distinction, assuming he would be going back to Konoha at month's end.

If Naruto did decide to return to Konoha, Itachi wasn't sure what would happen. He doubted the Leader would give up on his powerful cousin so easily. Itachi thought Leader might well send someone to Konoha to guard Naruto from the shadows, especially with 'Madara' still after the Kyuubi in particular. That guard might not be Itachi; for all that his skill with genjutsu and familiarity with Konoha made him an ideal choice, he was still Leader's second in command. Putting him at Naruto's command while they were both in Ame was one thing, especially while Itachi needed medical treatment. The assignment was an ideal way for Leader to make sure Itachi stayed in Ame enough for the medic nin to treat him, though Itachi thought he would have been Leader's choice anyway. Sending him to Konoha was a great deal more complicated, would mean Leader would need another second for a while, even if Itachi retained the position officially.

Konan could do it, she had before, but she was much happier as the Angel of Ame, Pein's second in ruling the village, than as a member of Akatsuki.

However, discussing all the details with Naruto would delay them for quite some time, so Itachi didn't elaborate past the reminder that he would obey.

"It's up to you. Yeah, I think you should tell him, that he needs to know, but I'm not going to order you if you don't want to." Naruto, Konoha's pariah and still a genin, wasn't that comfortable giving orders to Itachi, who may have murdered his clan but still acted with the grace of a clan heir in a way Sasuke never had and who was or had been a much higher ranked ninja as well. The second in command of Akatsuki, answering to Naruto, of all people? For all Itachi's apparent acceptance, Naruto couldn't imagine the older man was happy about it.

Itachi nodded, smiling very slightly. Naruto's thoughts were all too clear on his face, and Itachi would have to reassure him at some point. Not now. "As it happens, I agree with you." He drew out two scroll cases and tucked them into a pocket inside his cloak. With them tucked safely out of sight, he summoned one of the tower's servants and issued a list of orders.

"It will be done, Itachi-sama," the man said and left quickly.

"With your permission, we should go back now," Itachi said to Naruto. "I do not want servants in with Sasuke without someone to supervise."

"You really don't trust him."

"He has made some spectacularly bad decisions. I realize what I did damaged him, but he had an entire village to help him recover, including mind healers. My actions do not excuse what he did."

Naruto had a hard time arguing with that, even though he continued to consider Sasuke his best friend. He hoped Sasuke would listen to Itachi, that somehow they could all start to heal. If they could, any bargain Naruto made with Akatsuki would be worth it.

Itachi opened the door to Naruto's suite and stepped inside, unsurprised to have to intercept a punch from Sasuke, who had apparently been waiting at the door for their return. Itachi could have ended things immediately by activating some of the seals on the collar and cuffs Sasuke was wearing, but it took him little more time to use taijutsu to bring Sasuke to his knees.

"Calm down," he ordered. "You cannot expect to defeat me like this."

"Try not to hurt him," Naruto said.

"As you command," Itachi said quietly, hoping to make it clear to Sasuke that he was taking Naruto's orders before he started explaining the massacre. He glanced down at his brother. "That will be harder to do if you keep fighting me," he added.

"Naruto!" Sasuke snapped. "Help me! He's a murderer! He betrayed Konoha! You shouldn't be cooperating with him!"

"You don't have a great deal of room to talk about betrayal," Naruto said. "And Itachi had reasons for what he did. If you calm down, he might just tell you."

Sasuke froze for a moment, but it didn't last long. Rage twisting his face, he actually managed to fight his way out of Itachi's grip enough to get to his feet and land a blow on Itachi's shoulder, though not a particularly powerful one. It was enough to make Itachi stop relying solely on taijutsu, and his Sharingan spun as he wove a genjutsu around his younger brother. Sasuke fell into Itachi's arms, unconscious, seconds later.

Itachi left Sasuke unconscious until the servant had finished in Naruto's rooms and left again. When the three of them were alone again, Itachi hooked chains to the cuffs on Sasuke's wrists and bound him to a heavy chair before waking him from the genjutsu.

"You are going to stay right there and listen to what I have to say to you. If necessary, I will gag you so you have to listen to me."

"Did the dobe order you to tell me?"

Itachi shook his head. "No. He could have. You have gathered that I am obeying his orders, but he refused to order me to tell you about the massacre. I am telling you because I choose to. To be honest, I don't particularly want to tell you, but you obviously need to know. You will listen, and you will look at the evidence I can provide that I am telling the truth. I relieved Konoha of that evidence, so you will look at it." The mission orders and reports about the coup the Uchiha clan had been planning and the massacre he'd committed weren't the only things Itachi had taken from Konoha's files, but he'd known he would need them to convince Sasuke, just like he'd known Sasuke was one of the keys to gaining Naruto's loyalty. For the sake of a leader he was coming to trust, a child he respected, and the idiotic brother he nevertheless loved, as well as for the peace he had craved since infancy, he was willing to restructure the plans he had made around the massacre.

"I don't care what you have to say," Sasuke snapped. "Since you don't want to tell me and haven't been ordered to do it, just don't. Obviously, you're going to keep me here until whatever bargain you have with the dobe expires, and what you have to tell me won't change that. There's no excuse for what you did."

"Perhaps not," Itachi said calmly. "You do not have to forgive me. However, I was acting under orders." He opened a folder and tossed the mission orders into Sasuke's lap. "The council ordered the death of our clan. I was supposed to kill you, too."

Slowly, Sasuke started to read over the mission orders. The orders included the reason and references to Itachi's actions as a spy in the clan. "This isn't possible," he said helplessly, trying to bury his face in his hands but coming up short against the chains.

"It is the truth, Sasuke. I did not handle everything perfectly, but I will not apologize. My first priority was to make sure you would be safe in Konoha without me there to protect you on a daily basis." Itachi passed over the rest of that folder. "Look through everything. If you have questions, I will probably answer them." In the meantime, he would go over the rest with Naruto. Itachi turned away from his brother, not wanting to face Sasuke's confusion and grief, and moved to kneel beside Naruto with the other folder in his hand.

"My turn, then?" Naruto asked. "Is it going to be as unpleasant for me as for Sasuke?"

"Possibly," Itachi admitted. "You are an idealist with a great deal of faith in Konoha. This is going to break some of that idealism and faith if you believe me, just as the revelations for Sasuke broke some of his faith in our family."

"What did Konoha do to Naruto?" Sasuke demanded. "How much farther can that village sink?" He put aside the folder of truth about the Uchiha clan and the massacre and listened carefully while Itachi explained Naruto's buried heritage and stolen dreams.

"No higher than a genin?" Naruto asked softly. "Ever?"

"Even that was a concession," Itachi told him. In order to deny Danzo the right to craft Naruto into a weapon, Sarutobi had had to make concessions to those who wanted Naruto weak. "They never wanted you to become too strong, so they made sure your instruction was sabotaged. They kept your name and heritage from you so you would remain a no name orphan with no power in Konoha. They kept your family scrolls and inheritance from you." Itachi smiled a little. "I took the liberty of removing those from Konoha's custody while I was gathering the files. I'll hand them over later, when this has sunk in a little." Itachi glanced at Sasuke. "You were under similar restrictions, though for different reasons. They did not want to risk losing their last Uchiha, at least the last one in Konoha, on higher level missions. They did want you taught, though, so you'd be as well protected as possible, and so you'd stay loyal."

Sasuke snorted. "They lost me to Orochimaru anyway. I hate that village."

Naruto wanted to protest, but with the evidence of what Konoha had done to them staring him in the face, he found it much harder to defend the village as he usually would have. "You'll never go back, will you?" he asked Sasuke. "Even now that you don't have so much reason to hunt Itachi. It's just given you more reasons to stay away or to destroy Konoha."

"I won't go back," Sasuke agreed.

"He can't go back," Itachi corrected. He pulled out one more order and showed it to both boys. "If he's caught within Hi no Kuni, even if he's returning to Konoha of his own free will, he's dead. They'll harvest his DNA for a new generation of Sharingan users and execute him."

"That isn't what Tsunade told me!" Naruto protested, but none of the rest of it was what he'd been told, either.

"To be fair to Tsunade-sama, it is not her order," Itachi said. "She may genuinely believe she can talk the council into a different course of action once you bring Sasuke home."

"But you don't think so," Naruto said.

"I have had enough dealings with the council to be sure she will not succeed. After all, that council has entirely too much experience with traitorous Uchiha to give Sasuke a second chance. Actually, they would view it as a third chance, believing that their mercy at the time of the massacre, leaving him alive at my request, was Sasuke's second chance."

Sasuke stared at his brother and noticed for the first time that Itachi was on his knees beside Naruto. There were times when Sasuke had wanted Itachi on his knees, begging for forgiveness, more than Sasuke wanted Itachi dead. Of course, Itachi wasn't begging for forgiveness, and he wasn't on his knees at Sasuke's feet. Still, the sight was unnerving. Itachi, the perfect prodigy and perfect killer, on his knees to Sasuke's idiotic teammate.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

"What, dobe?"

Itachi watched with amusement as the insults successfully distracted both boys from more serious topics.

After the third time Sasuke tried to get up to get in Naruto's face only to get caught up short by the chains binding him to the chair, he turned on Itachi. "Will you let me up? You're done talking unpleasantness, and you've still got the seals on me, so I'm not going anywhere."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to attack me again?"

"Not at the moment," Sasuke said curtly. "And what do you care? You didn't have any trouble."

Itachi ignored that. "Naruto-kun?"

"Go ahead." Naruto waved a hand. He wasn't comfortable leaving his best friend chained in what was still, for Sasuke at least, enemy territory. Naruto wasn't sure what to do with Sasuke now, since he couldn't haul Sasuke back to Konoha as he'd planned and promised, but he did know he wanted their friendship back. It meant he'd give Sasuke what freedom he could. "After, I want to go for a walk," he added, wanting to get away from those folders.

Itachi nodded. "Of course." He rose and walked over to Sasuke, graceful as ever, and frowned when Sasuke flinched away. "Hold still." He removed the chains but left the seal bracelets and collar alone. "I am not going to hurt you, little brother. I have no reason to."

Reluctantly, Sasuke nodded.

The walk inevitably took Naruto and Itachi to a training ground, where Naruto took out his rage and confusion on targets for a while. When that wasn't sufficient, he and Itachi started sparring. Itachi was good enough that Naruto did not have to hold back, so the fight helped. Itachi avoided expending power, not having the stamina Naruto did, so the fight could drag out until Naruto was exhausted. They took dinner for three back to Naruto's rooms, and the meal was nearly silent. Both boys were dealing with the unpleasant revelations, and Itachi was content to observe them. Every interaction with Sasuke was strained, and Itachi didn't want to push Naruto and risk the chances that Naruto would stay past the end of the month.

Though he was exhausted after the sparring session, Naruto couldn't sleep that night; he tossed and turned until Sasuke got fed up and sat up on his futon across the room. "If you're going to keep me awake anyway, get over here and talk to me about it," he ordered. He couldn't go to Naruto because Itachi had chained one of his wrists to the wall. Sasuke, exhausted and still in shock from what he'd learned that day, hadn't bothered to fight his brother. Against his will, he could understand Itachi's concerns for Naruto.

Naruto sighed, too tired to fight with Sasuke. He got to his feet and walked over to sit down on Sasuke's futon. He was careful of Sasuke's chained wrist.

"What are you thinking?" Sasuke asked.

"That I trusted Konoha, trusted Tsunade. I shouldn't have. Tsunade never told me any of this. And maybe Itachi's right, she didn't tell me because she genuinely believes she can change things. That doesn't mean I don't feel betrayed. But I made promises."

"Do you need to hold to promises to people who haven't kept their promises to you?" Sasuke asked. He shifted around to sit cross-legged and face Naruto, ignoring the way that pulled his arm at an awkward angle to keep his wrist within a few inches of the wall.

"I don't know," Naruto admitted. "I don't want to become a missing nin, but I'm not sure I could give Konoha my best after learning all this."

"Since you're still a genin, that's hardly a problem. You can retire. Once you've turned in your hitai-ate, they can't declare you a missing nin when you leave. Since they clearly didn't want you as a ninja to begin with, I doubt they'll have any problem accepting your resignation."

"If it's that simple, why didn't you do it?"

"Several reasons. I was in a hurry after the Sound Four found me and made their offer. I was also under careful surveillance after the exams. If I'd tried to resign, that surveillance would have increased beyond what I could have easily escaped. I was their last Uchiha and last chance for the Sharingan bloodline. They'd never have let me go willingly. Besides, I didn't care about being declared a missing nin. I didn't intend to go back."

That, Naruto could easily believe. "Still. I promised Sakura I'd bring you back to her."

Sasuke turned and glared across the dark room. "Instead of pretending to be asleep, why don't you do something useful and make tea?" he demanded. "_Nii-san_." The familial title was sharp.

Though he didn't comment, Itachi got to his feet. He felt no need to obey his brother in general, but he had been wondering what to do for Naruto before Sasuke spoke up. After unsealing tea things from a scroll, he used a jutsu to heat the water and set the tea to brew, ignoring Sasuke's derisive snort.

"Don't criticize your brother for something I've seen you do."

Sasuke ignored that. "Show Sakura the execution order. She'll let you out of that promise."

"If you speak to her while we are still holding Sasuke, you can also offer to bring her to Sasuke instead," Itachi added, bringing the tray of tea over to the futon and ignoring Sasuke's scowl. "It would mean the girl might learn you have dealings with Akatsuki, or at least with me, but it is an option." Itachi's appearance in Oto and retrieval of his younger brother, not to mention the method Itachi had used to get Sasuke out of Orochimaru's hands, would be spreading through the elemental nations. Kisame, who disliked Orochimaru intensely, was out making sure the story spread far and wide for the sake of humiliating Orochimaru.

Naruto nodded and drank his tea when Itachi passed it over. Sasuke had been surprised when Itachi passed over a cup for him as well, but they both were content not to comment. Naruto was calmer when the tea was gone, but he wasn't calm enough to sleep. Instead, he went off to take a shower, not even remembering to make sure the brothers wouldn't fight while he was gone.

"I never thought Naruto would willingly consider leaving Konoha," Sasuke admitted. He scowled at his brother. "I am not a trusting idiot like he is. Is he really going to be safe with Akatsuki?"

"He was actually fairly cautious. And in his defense, he didn't have a lot to lose; we already had him."

"Your work?"

"Of course."

"Successfully kidnapping my best friend is not something you should be bragging to me about."

"You're the one who tried to kill him," Itachi said coolly.

"Since you have Mangekyo Sharingan, you don't have much room to criticize me."

"What happened with Shisui was between the two of us and not your business." Itachi took Sasuke's empty cup. "More tea?"

"You're implying Shisui was complicit in his own murder?"

"I am not implying anything. I am saying it is none of your business. I am a killer, Otouto. I don't deny that. But Naruto has nothing to fear from me, whether or not he stays in Ame."

"And what happens to you if he decides to stay? Going to have a permanent demotion from Akatsuki elite to personal servant and bodyguard?"

"You're not going to humiliate or hurt me by tossing that in my face," Itachi said calmly and met Sasuke's eyes with Sharingan in his own. "I will remain the second in command of Akatsuki, as I am now. If Naruto chooses to stay here, I will also remain at his command. His servant, if that is how you would prefer to see it."

Sasuke shook his head, unable to understand how Itachi could be so apathetic. Sasuke would hate to be anyone's servant, had hated taking Orochimaru's orders the entire time he was in Oto, even though Orochimaru was more powerful and experienced than Sasuke. Itachi was obeying someone younger and less experienced than he was, someone who could not defeat him in combat, unless something drastic had changed in the last few years. "Naruto hasn't figured that out."

"I know. He also thinks I resent being under his command. Just like you expected me to be embarrassed. You, at least, ought to have known better. You saw me on my knees earlier."

Sasuke shrugged, irritation obvious. "Just because you don't show it doesn't mean you don't feel it," he muttered.

"A fair point," Itachi admitted. "Fine. I will tell you what I have not yet told him, though only because we have not yet discussed it. Leader did not order me into Naruto's service. We discussed it before I left to retrieve him, and I agreed to be the one assigned. I am the best suited for the task, for a variety of reasons, and did not mind."

"What is so special about Naruto that the leader of Akatsuki assigns his second in command to act like a maid? I could see assigning you as a bodyguard, but why a servant? A civilian could do that. Is it just because of the demon?"

"No, though it is one reason. For anything else, you will need to speak with Naruto. Especially as I am uncertain what he intends to do with you at the end of the month. Some of the reasons Leader wants to recruit him would put Naruto's life at risk. I hope you realize that his heritage also brings him enemies, if it becomes common knowledge."

"Think you're such a bad bodyguard you couldn't protect him?"

"Just because I could probably defeat almost anyone who came after him does not mean I wish to have to."

Sasuke had to concede that point. He glanced down at his wrist, chained to the wall, and at the cuff inscribed with complicated seals. All done because Itachi, murderer and Akatsuki elite, couldn't trust Sasuke not to attack his best friend. Or Itachi himself, though that didn't seem to be his primary concern. "Fine, I get it. I may have tried to kill him in the middle of a fight, but he's still my best friend. I don't want him dead. I won't tell his secrets."

"Thank you. That potentially makes my job a great deal easier."

"And if he goes back to Konoha?"

"I am not certain," Itachi admitted. "Leader will want someone to keep an eye on him, and I would be well-suited to the job, but that _would_ conflict with my duties as Leader's second in command. Do you think that is what he will choose?"

"I'm not sure. He's very loyal, but this shook him. And what happens to me? I'm guessing that if he chooses to stay and asks you to hold onto me, you won't let me go."

"And where would you go?"

"I don't know," Sasuke admitted quietly. He hated admitting that to Itachi, of all people. Finding out the truth of the massacre didn't erase eight years of bad feeling between them.

Itachi nodded, unsurprised. Sasuke's goals had been to kill Itachi and restart the clan. Both of those goals had been undermined by learning the truth of the massacre. Even if Sasuke chose to continue pursuing the rebuilding of the Uchiha clan, he would have to find someone and a place, since he couldn't go back to Konoha. "You are probably correct. Leader cares more about keeping Naruto happy than he does about you."

"And if I stay, willingly or not, these stay on?" Sasuke held up his free hand and nodded at the cuff. "Even if I give my word?"

"You are a traitor, Otouto. It will be some time before your word is worth anything."

Sasuke sighed. He could understand that, even if it still hurt, after all these years of lies and hatred, that his brother couldn't trust him. He even understood what Itachi tactfully hadn't said; the time when his word was worth something might never come. "If Naruto still isn't calm when he gets back, take him out for a walk or something. He's always calmer outside. I'm going to try to sleep."

"Want a genjutsu to knock you out?"

For a moment, Sasuke almost thought he caught a slight smile on Itachi's face. "No, thank you," he said firmly. Very deliberately, he turned his back and lay down facing the wall. It was the most comfortable position to sleep in for his chained wrist, though he disliked having Itachi at his back. But Itachi had intended to hinder Sasuke as much as possible without additional chains and had succeeded by chaining Sasuke's outside wrist. If Sasuke didn't want to sleep hanging half off the futon, he had to sleep facing the wall or have his arm dragged across his body. Simplest just to give up and accept having Itachi at his back. And the talk had Sasuke relaxed enough that he actually managed to fall asleep when he was sure Naruto was finally sleeping, though that only happened happened an hour later, after they got back from the walk Sasuke had recommended.

The next morning, Sasuke learned that Itachi was actively training Naruto. He scowled at the further evidence that Naruto was so important to the Akatsuki but didn't make a fuss. While they were gone, he did physical training in the rooms, doing whatever he could without chakra or weapons. He was determined not to lose too much ground, even while he was a prisoner. He was, at least, permitted free run of the suite during the day. It was a lot more freedom than he might have had; Itachi could simply have locked Sasuke in a cell, claiming it was for Naruto's safety, and still been within the constraints of Akatsuki's bargain. Sasuke knew he had Naruto to thank, just as he had Naruto to thank for the fact that he now knew the truth of what Itachi had done.

And this was the boy Sasuke had nearly killed for the sake of power.

* * *

For a week, this routine continued without interruption, but eight days after they'd brought Sasuke to the Akatsuki base, Itachi brought up a change in routine. He was speaking mostly to Naruto, but Sasuke was bored enough and curious enough to listen. Itachi didn't object to Sasuke staying.

"We have a potential mission," Itachi said. "Obviously, you are in no way required to accept it. You are not sworn to Akatsuki. Even if you decide to join us, you will be like me, with the option to refuse missions."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the further proof of how powerful his brother was and at the implications of how deep Naruto was in.

"Your training with me has been going very well, and I reported to leader that you were sufficiently skilled. You have improved dramatically in the two weeks you've been my student."

"What's the mission?" Naruto asked.

"There is a group running a kidnap ring out of a casino on our border. A team from Kiri attempted to break it up and took a straightforward approach, breaking in the front door. They got slaughtered. The client decided she would do better with us than another one of the major villages. Akatsuki does not fail its missions often."

"You failed to get me the first time you tried," Naruto pointed out, and Sasuke smirked.

"I remedied the error, didn't I?" Itachi asked, his soft, poisonous voice never changing.

Idly, Sasuke wondered if Itachi was even capable of expressing emotions anymore. Itachi had always been stoic, but he was much worse now than he'd been when they were children. Sasuke didn't realize that Naruto understood Itachi and what Itachi felt fairly easily, and no one was about to enlighten him.

"I assume you'd be going with me? We'd be partners for the mission?"

"Of course," Itachi said. "I am your bodyguard and an S-class. I am also your sensei."

"But you're blind!" Naruto blurted out.

"What?" Sasuke whispered.

"Not quite," Itachi said after a long moment. "You always know, don't you? How long have you known?"

Naruto shrugged. "Since Oto."

Itachi nodded. "The medics have stabilized my eyes." They'd done it when he decided he had more to live for than dying at Sasuke's hand. It might or might not last. "You've been working with me for two weeks. Do you really think being nearly blind will hinder me on this mission?"

"No." Abruptly, Naruto remembered he and Itachi weren't alone. "Sorry for just blurting it out."

"It's fine." Itachi glanced at Sasuke. "He's not an idiot. He would have realized eventually. Shall we accept the mission?"

Naruto considered carefully. This was a step beyond working with Akatsuki to retrieve Sasuke, but at that point, he didn't care. "All right."

"What about me?" Sasuke asked abruptly.

"What about you, Otouto? Why would anything change for you because we will be gone for a few days?"

"If you trust me with weapons, I could help," Sasuke said very carefully, taking the first steps toward building some kind of trust with these two. "If you relax the seals enough to allow me the passive abilities of the Sharingan, I would be an asset, even without further access to my chakra. And don't tell me you can't adjust the seals to give me the passive abilities without giving me any of the active abilities, because I won't believe you. I could watch your backs. If you would trust me enough."

"Can we trust you?" Itachi asked. That his voice didn't change at all made the question hurt even worse. "You have tried to kill both of us."

"I am not asking you to take the cuffs and collar off or to deactivate all the seals, even temporarily. Only to adjust them. Can anyone but you remove them or adjust the seals?"

"No," Itachi said. "Only me."

"So if I run or kill you, I will never have access to my chakra again. I may be able to fight very well without chakra, but that doesn't mean I want to for the rest of my life." Though he was beginning to think he would willingly live with the collar and cuffs for the rest of his life, if that was the only way for Itachi and Naruto to trust him again.

Itachi nodded, conceding the point. "And why do you want to come with us?"

"Partially simply because I am bored, confined to these rooms for days."

"Boredom is not a good enough reason."

"I realize. You're my brother. Naruto is my best friend. I would like to help keep you safe. Besides, when it comes to Naruto, I know I have a lot of amends to make." Sasuke kept his eyes on Itachi, unable to meet Naruto's gaze. "You, I don't feel much need to apologize to, but I would watch your back."

Though Sasuke had humbled himself to admit that much, Itachi still thought there was something he hadn't heard. "Naruto-kun, would you give us a minute, please?"

"Sasuke?" Naruto wouldn't leave the brothers alone if Sasuke wasn't all right with it.

"Go on, Dobe."

"Teme!" Naruto stomped off into the bedroom, muttering insults.

"What else?" Itachi asked.

"If he's agreeing to go on a mission with you, he's very likely to stay. He isn't going to want to let me go. Besides, as you've already established, I don't have anywhere to go. But if I'm going to stay, I'd at least like to be allowed out of Naruto's rooms on occasion."

"You're considering staying willingly?"

"Yeah. That'll be easier if I can train and run missions, as long as you're there. I am not asking you to trust me completely. I am not asking to be allowed to wander freely. I am just asking for a chance."

"I will speak to Leader about it," Itachi said after a long moment. "If he agrees, you may come. You are correct that I could alter the seals to give you the Sharingan's perceptive abilities in minutes. Understand, I will set it up so that I can take that away again in seconds if you betray my trust."

"Of course." Sasuke couldn't argue with that.

"Those seals are already set up with a safety measure if you or Naruto is attacked. If that happens, you will immediately have full access to your chakra and all your abilities, though if you turn those abilities on us, those seals will go active again."

"You mean all I had to do was goad you or Naruto into attacking me?" Sasuke demanded.

"Of course not. Naruto and I are both exceptions built into the design of the seals."

That made a lot more sense. Sasuke would have had difficulty provoking Itachi into attacking, but Naruto had always been fairly easy to goad. "Does he know the details?"

"Yes. He asked me about the design the day after you arrived here. He was concerned about leaving you close to defenseless in enemy territory."

That afternoon, Itachi went to report to Pein while Naruto was studying poisons with Sasori.

"What is your opinion?"

"I am in favor of giving Sasuke the opportunity. It would make Naruto happy. Sasuke says Naruto is likely to stay at the end of the month, and I am inclined to believe him. If Naruto does stay, we will have to do something with Sasuke. Naruto is not likely to want to let Sasuke walk out of his life again. Sasuke has also indicated that he would like to stay if Naruto does."

"I will not have another person I cannot trust in Akatsuki."

"I realize, and so does he. He made himself very clear that he doesn't expect the collar and cuffs to come off or to have free run of the tower. This is an easy mission, one I could accomplish alone. It is an ideal mission to test Sasuke's loyalties. If you are concerned I would have difficulty protecting Naruto from enemies and Sasuke at the same time, send Kisame with us." Itachi didn't think they needed Kisame, but he wouldn't argue with having some extra help.

"Fine. I'll brief Kisame and have him ready to leave in the morning."

"Thank you, Leader-sama."

"He _is_ your younger brother. If this works, I will be glad."

Itachi would, too, though he was still uncomfortable with Sasuke. He bowed to Pein and went to collect Naruto from Sasori's lesson. That evening after supper, Itachi adjusted the seals while Sasuke held very still.

"Try your Sharingan," Itachi ordered when he finished.

Sasuke felt the small trickle of chakra that he could now access. It wasn't enough for jutsu, genjutsu or ninjutsu, but it did allow him to activate his Sharingan. The world became painfully clear and seemed to slow. As soon as he was sure his Sharingan worked, he blinked the bloodline away. When they went to bed, Sasuke was annoyed but unsurprised that Itachi still insisted on binding his wrist to the wall. A little more freedom didn't mean he was trusted.

In the morning, Itachi returned Sasuke's weapons. "Don't make me regret trusting you, Otouto. If you break your word, you will never be trusted again."

"I get it, Nii-san. I won't break my word. I'm not going to turn traitor again."

Itachi nodded and removed the cuff that kept Sasuke confined to the suite. "Are you both ready?" When they were, Itachi led the way to meet Kisame at the entrance to the tower, and they began to run to the border.

Naruto was wearing a hood and mask again, his forehead protector left in the suite in Ame. Sasuke had also chosen to hide his face and hair, though Itachi had pointed out that everyone knew Sasuke was in Akatsuki's hands. Itachi and Kisame once again chose to go without masks, taking advantage of their reputation. Most people weren't willing to attack them.

"We're not going to attack through the front door," Itachi said. "We'll use stealth to find our targets and try to avoid a straightforward battle. Kisame will watch the outside to be sure none of our targets gets away."

"Will I be with you or with Kisame?" Sasuke asked. He'd figured out that Kisame was with them because Sasuke was allowed to come.

"I trust you don't need chakra for stealth?" Itachi asked.

"No."

"Then you will be with us." Itachi looked closely at both Naruto and Sasuke. "I am leading this team. I expect both of you to listen to me."

"Fine," Sasuke said shortly.

"Sure, Itachi," Naruto said, having no problem accepting the temporary role reversal.

"Thank you. Naruto-kun, you have a gift for unexpected tactics. If you have ideas you want to suggest, talk to me."

Watching his brother, Sasuke was tempted to ask if Itachi was relieved to be free of following Naruto's orders for a few hours, but he kept the taunt between his teeth. When he felt Itachi's eyes on him seconds later, he realized it didn't matter if he said something or not.

"No," Itachi said. "This is hardly the first time we've reversed roles, since I've been teaching him. However, I do not mind being at his command. I already told you that I have the option of refusing missions. I do not even have to give a reason. That means my current role is my choice."

Sasuke scowled at Naruto. "Are you sure he's blind?"

"Nearly," Itachi corrected.

"Yes, I'm sure," Naruto said, ignoring Itachi's correction.

"How the hell do you know?"

Hesitating, Naruto glanced at Itachi.

"Tell him, if you like. We're still a few hours' run from the border. I am also curious what gave me away. Very few people know how close my eyes are to failing. There are Akatsuki members who have worked with me for years, as my sight steadily deteriorated, who have not figured it out, and you realized in a week."

Naruto nodded and looked at Sasuke. "His eyes don't focus right. It's more obvious when his Sharingan is inactive. He did that with me at first to make me more comfortable. He positions himself so he can hear more clearly, without worrying so much about how well he can see what he's focused on. He's also got some sort of jutsu active most of the time that I think must be some variation of genjutsu. It uses almost no chakra but seems to sense the surroundings."

"You're right," Itachi said. "I'm impressed you can sense that. However, I will not risk using that jutsu while we want to go undetected. There are alternatives I can use." He looked back at Sasuke. "I do not need to be able to see you clearly to understand what you are thinking, Otouto. I am still your older brother, and I still know how you think."

Sasuke sighed. That understanding did not go both ways; Sasuke had never understood Itachi and didn't think he ever would. Even their father had had trouble understanding Itachi. "What alternatives? Something we could help with?"

"The most effective is, perhaps, not the best in this case. It would require you to trust me more than I think either of you does at this point. The simplest is that I trust one of you to tell me any details I can't see. I am not actually blind, and I have trained extensively to function without sight without using any jutsu to compensate. I would need very little help."

"What _is_ the most effective?" Naruto asked.

"It's a master-level genjutsu technique. I can put a little of my chakra in your eyes and see from your perspective, essentially casting a genjutsu on myself."

"When would that be useful, except for someone who's blind?" Naruto asked.

"Generally, it is used to build more effective illusions, because the ninja building the illusion can see exactly what his opponent sees. I have altered the technique. I can place a bit of my chakra in your eyes in advance. It won't be detected like my sensory technique because it is such a small quantity of chakra that it will vanish in your chakra. It is a passive technique, which also helps it go unnoticed."

"But you'd have to adjust to seeing from someone else's perspective," Sasuke pointed out.

"I am good enough with genjutsu not to worry about that. I also have a fair amount of practice. If I can compensate for seeing through Kisame's eyes, I can compensate for seeing through yours. But like I said, it is probably not the most viable technique. You would have to trust I am not doing anything else when I put my chakra in your eyes, trust that I don't have an ulterior motive. I would not ask you to do that. I am well aware that I am an enemy."

Naruto stopped, resting his hand on the trunk of a tree. "You can use my eyes. What do I need to do?"

"Naruto, don't," Sasuke hissed. "You're the one with the demon they want."

"He's had plenty of opportunities to do whatever to me. And that demon can heal nearly anything."

Sasuke folded his arms and turned to Itachi. "I don't trust you yet, but I'd rather you use my eyes than that idiot's."

"I repeat, I do not have to use anyone's eyes."

"Just do it, Itachi. You'll do better with my eyes, anyway. I have Sharingan." His eyes flashed red to emphasize his point, though he quickly released the Sharingan before it could make anyone nervous. He did not want to lose access to his Sharingan so soon after he'd convinced Itachi to trust him a little. "You trusted me enough to give back my eyes. I will trust you enough to let you use them." It would go a little further in rebuilding some sort of relationship with his brother, and it was also something he could do for Naruto. Something more than accepting the life of a pet, which was what he'd been since Itachi had taken him. Even now, he was more a dangerous animal to be collared and directed at their enemies than a teammate. "Unless it'll interfere with the seals you have binding me?"

Itachi understood what Sasuke was thinking with little trouble and did not argue further. "No, it won't interfere. Do you wish me to do this now?"

One corner of Sasuke's mouth quirked up. "I'm a bit shorter than Kisame. Better to have more time to adjust your perspective."

"Are you sure, Sasuke? I can do it."

"I'm sure, Dobe, so shut up."

Naruto scowled, but Itachi caught his eyes. Again, Naruto's ability to understand Itachi told him more than words could have, so he kept further arguments behind his teeth.

"What do I need to do, Nii-san?"

"Sit down and close your eyes. I'm going to put my hand over your eyes and channel a very small amount of chakra. There may be a little pain; your eyes are more sensitive than most because of your Sharingan. If it becomes too painful, tell me. I'll stop."

When Sasuke seemed ready, Itachi did exactly what he'd said. Sasuke hissed softly as he felt the sting of his brother's chakra enter his eyes, but the pain faded quickly.

"Open your eyes, Otouto."

Sasuke obeyed and noticed immediately that Itachi's eyes were closed.

"How do your eyes feel?"

"Fine."

"Look around, please. First without your Sharingan, then with. I am going to sync my eyes to yours."

Sasuke obeyed without comment. Itachi opened his eyes and slowly adjusted the two visions, one blurred and in shades of grey and red and the other painfully clear but from the wrong perspective, until they fit together. Ten minutes later, they were back on their way. Itachi seemed to have no trouble using Sasuke's eyes, and he dropped the sensory jutsu after another half an hour, satisfied with the alternative.

Two hours later, they looked down on the casino from a tree.

"I can get inside and scout legitimately, without anyone suspecting me," Naruto offered after an hour of surveying what they could see from outside.

"Oh?" Itachi asked softly. "Safely? What are you thinking?"

"I have a transformation technique that is undetectable."

"Not _that _technique," Sasuke muttered. "Really, Dobe?"

"Hey! It _is _undetectable, and she looks nothing like a ninja! I've used it before. I even have a fancy kimono to wear and pass for a noble lady. It would even let me have a ninja escort without them thinking there's anything odd about it. They wouldn't think my escort was targeting them."

"What technique?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke shook his head. "It's just a perverted Henge trick. He turns into a naked girl."

"It's not Henge. It's not genjutsu. It's a transformation. Your Sharingan won't see through it," Naruto said coolly. He withdrew a scroll from his pocket. "This has everything I'd need to play a noblewoman with a taste for running a little wild. One who'd have no problem with having a missing nin lover who could double as a bodyguard." Naruto had no doubt who would be taking that role, if Itachi accepted this plan. Sasuke would be ideal, being less infamous than Itachi or Kisame, but Itachi wouldn't trust him.

"It is an interesting idea," Itachi said quietly. "Let us watch a while longer while I think about it." He'd already spotted a number of guards, all missing nin, none on their level. Naruto and Sasuke were not yet on Itachi and Kisame's level, but they should not have trouble with any of the guards Itachi noted.

When night fell, they retreated about a mile to make camp, leaving shadow clones to observe the night's activity at the casino while they would be well-rested for the next day. Several more shadow clones served as sentries, ensuring that all the actual ninjas got a good night of sleep, especially since Itachi was seriously considering Naruto's suggestion for scouting inside the next day.

"What are you going to do with me?" Sasuke asked bluntly. "It's risky to bind me to a tree, if we're attacked, but I doubt you trust me in the same camp as Naruto, even with clones keeping watch."

Though neither Itachi nor his clone answered aloud, the clone withdrew a set of cuffs from a scroll and beckoned Sasuke over, just as Itachi had done when they were children, before conspiracies had destroyed the lives they'd known and nearly destroyed both of them as surely as Itachi had destroyed their clan.

"So if we are attacked, the clone will dispel, and the chain with it," Sasuke said and walked over, holding out his hands. Seconds later, one of his wrists was chained to Itachi's clone.

"If you try anything, I will know," Itachi said softly. "If you dispel my clone, it will wake me."

"Understood, Nii-san," Sasuke said. "But I'm not going to do anything."

"Much as I would like to believe you, we will see." Itachi turned away from his little brother and went to tend to Naruto. Itachi had no trouble with the dichotomy between leading the team and continuing to serve Naruto, though he knew Sasuke was still watching with some confusion.

At dawn, they returned to their posts and watched for another hour while Naruto went over what his clones had seen with Itachi. At the end of the hour, Itachi declared they would use Naruto's plan for infiltration.

"Want to switch to my eyes?" Naruto asked. "I trust you."

Sasuke looked sharply at Naruto but didn't protest this time. Nothing bad had happened to him while his brother used his eyes, so he had very little room to argue. He still wasn't happy about it, but he knew he couldn't go in with them. He'd feel better if Itachi just relied on his other senses and went blind, but that would impact their infiltration.

"Thank you," Itachi said. "It would be simpler for you to use your technique first, in case your technique interferes with mine."

Naruto nodded and shifted into female form, with a few alterations to make him look less like an impossible woman from one of Jiraiya's books and more like a very beautiful and sexy woman. He withdrew a fancy kimono from a scroll and dressed carefully. Itachi helped him get the kimono arranged perfectly and fixed Naruto's hair, causing Sasuke to raise his eyebrows.

"You seem to have a bit of experience with women's clothing, Itachi," Sasuke said casually.

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "I was ANBU, and I have long hair." He left it at that, leaving Sasuke to draw his own conclusions while he placed his chakra in Naruto's eyes and adjusted to using them.

Itachi removed his Akatsuki cloak but left his slashed forehead protector on his forehead, unconcerned at declaring himself a missing nin. The criminals would walk carefully around him and Naruto, but they would be less suspicious than they would be if someone recognized him while he attempted some form of undercover. His picture was in the bingo book, and there were missing nin in the organization they'd been hired to eradicate. Even lower level missing nin had to have some awareness of the big names, so Itachi was very likely to be recognized on sight, whether or not he made it obvious who he was. Since Naruto was playing a noblewoman who liked playing with bad boys, the simplest solution was to go in openly.

Naruto played a surprisingly convincing young woman, flirty and seductive with an unconscious air of power and entitlement. Knowing what he did about how the boy had grown up, Itachi was distinctly impressed and murmured as much in Naruto's ear as Naruto hung off Itachi's arm. They meandered up the road to the casino and turned in the doors.

The security marked Itachi but did not quarrel at letting him enter with the amount of money Naruto was flashing. Inside, Naruto headed for the gambling while Itachi watched and kept an eye on their surroundings through Naruto's eyes and his other senses.

While Naruto spent several hours being ridiculously lucky at gambling, Itachi spotted five of their seven targets moving in and out of one of the side rooms ostensibly left aside for private games. When they left that afternoon, Naruto was substantially richer, and Itachi knew exactly where he and his team needed to go when everything was still. He knew where the kidnap ring kept watch from and where the casino posted its guards. He knew how to get in and how to slip away undetected when his targets were dead. Naruto had very sharp eyes, and Itachi had taken full advantage while Naruto leaned on him or sat on his lap and played games.

Itachi had been startled the first time Naruto kissed him after a big win, but he was a good enough actor that no one caught it. The second time, he got more involved in the kiss, enjoying it even though it was for an act, though he frankly thought Naruto's male body was more attractive.

That night, they slipped through the shadows and killed the five members of the ring who were present in the casino. Unfortunately, the two missing members returned with another victim just as Itachi was sealing the last head in the scroll for proof of completing the mission and for Kakuzu to collect the bounties. They heard the sound of combat from outside, and Itachi sighed.

"Kisame is having a bit too much fun," he said. "He's tired of missions where I manage to get us through without a fight."

They had to fight their way back out past the casino security, leaving a trail of unconscious and dead bodies. Sasuke enjoyed having the chance to fight again; he had always enjoyed fighting, and he had not had a fight since Itachi took him. Even when one of the guards attacked him, giving him full access to his chakra again, he stuck to taijutsu and weapons. He didn't need anything more to kill these people, and Naruto and Itachi were not having any trouble.

When they got outside, they found Kisame had already tired of playing with the two shinobi and finished the fight, while their kidnap victim had made a run for home. Itachi stored the two heads Kisame passed him without comment.

Sasuke was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, trying to hide how uncomfortable it was to feel the seals reactivate and cut him off from his chakra again. Still, the other three knew what was happening to him and were patient, something he appreciated. The cursed seal on his neck stung until all his chakra was suppressed except for the trickle that let him use Sharingan. "What now?" he asked when the seals were finished with him.

With their mission complete, they chose to camp one more night rather than continuing through the dark to get back to the Akatsuki headquarters. Sasuke waited patiently for Itachi to finish the camp chores, a little amused when Itachi once again gently ushered Naruto out of the way instead of letting him help. When camp was set and Kisame had started cooking, Sasuke stepped forward. Immediately, all the attention was focused on him, reminding him that he was still a potential threat.

"Nii-san. _Itachi_. I need to talk to you."

Itachi studied him, and Sasuke wondered how much he could see; Itachi had removed his chakra from Naruto's eyes earlier, which meant Itachi would be relying on his own weak eyes and potentially the sensory technique Naruto had described. "Naruto-kun, is that all right?"

"Sure," Naruto said. He didn't think he would ever get used to Uchiha Itachi asking him for permission for anything.

"Kisame, guard Naruto," Itachi ordered and stepped over to Sasuke. "Let's go, Otouto."

They walked away from the camp until they were out of sight and normal earshot. Naruto might still be able to hear them, but Itachi didn't mention that.

"What do you need, Otouto?"

"Has Naruto told you his decision?"

"He has avoided discussing the subject with me. Why?"

"He's already made it. I'm surprised he hasn't told you. Maybe he's just waiting until we get back to Ame."

"So he's going back to Konoha," Itachi said quietly.

"What? No. I never said that," Sasuke snapped. "He's decided to stay."

"Did he tell you that?"

"No, but he didn't have to. He said he trusts you and didn't add any conditionals. He killed for you. He may feel guilty, he may feel he is betraying Konoha, but he's made his choice to stay. Even after years apart, I still know him better than most. I know what he is thinking."

Itachi closed his eyes and took a deep breath, relieved. He still felt some loyalty to Konoha, probably always would, but the village was becoming ever deeper mired in corruption. He didn't want to see it burn, but he didn't want to send a friend back into that mess, especially not a friend who had already been harmed too many times by Konoha. A fine mess the village had made of the Yondaime's legacy. "What did you want to speak to me about? It wasn't merely to tell me your beliefs about Naruto." He didn't bother to open his eyes, not needing them to talk to his brother.

"Do the seals cut off the influence of the curse mark?" Sasuke asked. "I've been calmer since I woke with these on me."

"Yes."

"It's related to denying me access to my chakra, isn't it? When I had access during the fight, I started feeling more aggressive, feeling the desire for power again. It cut off and the seal hurt when your seals started restricting my chakra again. So is that part of why you're being so strict about limiting my chakra?"

"That's right," Itachi agreed. "I cannot cut off the cursed seal without cutting off your chakra. It feeds on your chakra. When there is no chakra in your system, it has no power to affect you. I cannot remove it. This was the best I could do. It also worked well because I genuinely cannot trust you, especially not with Naruto's safety."

"And if I choose to go and Naruto agrees to let me leave, you'll take the seals off me?"

Reluctantly, after a long moment, Itachi nodded. He wouldn't like relinquishing Sasuke to the cursed seal's influence, but he would do it. If that was Sasuke's choice, made when his mind was clear of the cursed seal's taint, Itachi would respect it. "I do hope you would not choose to go back to Orochimaru, though."

"It would be different if you hadn't agreed," Sasuke admitted. "I have more questions first. The seals aren't permanent now. I know you can take them off, since you just agreed to. If I agree to stay, they become permanent, right? You'll be able to alter which ones are active and affect me but will not be able to remove them, no matter what. Even if I stay loyal for years, even if I eventually prove that you can trust me, it will be too late. I'll wear the collar and cuffs for the rest of my life."

"Unfortunately, that is correct. I will not put seals directly on your skin; I can't. My sight isn't good enough. I don't trust any of my compensatory measures to be good enough for delicate seal work."

"You're a gifted liar, but you haven't lied to me this time. When Naruto has told you he's staying, I'll let you make them permanent. I'll help, if that makes any difference. All I ask is not to have to spend all my time confined to a few rooms. Let me train, and let me come on missions like this one. I have not done anything to break your trust on this mission. I won't do anything later. I can stay restricted to taijutsu and weapons work, if that will keep Orochimaru's seal from influencing me and make you more comfortable." Sasuke had made that decision when he felt how much difference the seals were making. He had been able to feel his mind clearing as Itachi's seals cut off his chakra. He hated it, but he hated the apparent effect the cursed seal had on him more.

"I will speak to Leader when we get back on your behalf. It should not be a problem. You were a help today, so as long as you agree to certain precautions, Leader should agree."

"If the leader of Akatsuki is so invested in one ninja-how deep is Naruto in, Nii-Itachi?"

"Is it so hard to call me brother, Otouto?"

Sasuke glanced down and traced the seals drawn on one of the cuffs. "I can't imagine you're too happy to share blood with a traitor, when it turns out you never were one."

"I do realize my actions affected your decisions, Otouto. We are brothers. That won't change. And Leader said he would let you stay for my sake as well as Naruto's."

Not knowing what to say to that, especially to the implication that Itachi wanted him to stay, Sasuke shook his head. "Is there anything else I need to know?"

"I doubt you'll ever be a member of Akatsuki, but that won't mean you can't run missions with us. Though I do think you'll only work with Kisame and me."

Since Sasuke didn't want to work with unfamiliar S-class missing nin, that was fine with him. "And training? Learning more techniques that don't require chakra?"

"I'll take care of it. Kisame would probably love to have someone to torture about kenjutsu and taijutsu." Itachi smiled a little. "Naruto is getting training from several people. I can probably get them to let you sit in on some of those lessons. I can also help, though as you know, I do more genjutsu and ninjutsu. That does not mean my taijutsu and weapons skills are lacking."

"I doubt any of your skills are lacking," Sasuke muttered, remembering all too well years of feeling he'd never be able to match his perfect brother. That feeling of inferiority was what had driven him to Orochimaru.

"My weakness is stamina and physical strength, though that is improving as my health improves," Itachi said.

"You're sick?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, I let the illness progress rather far before seeking treatment, which complicated things. The medics estimate I have several more months before I stop needing treatment every couple of weeks. I have only just gotten past the point where I need treatment every week."

They went back to the group, ate, and slept. Though Sasuke had behaved even during combat, he still got his wrist chained to Itachi's shadow clone while they slept, but he didn't argue.

Back in Ame, Naruto waited until they had finished debriefing and returned to his suite for the evening before he sat down with Itachi. Sasuke was watching, nearly positive he knew what this was about, but he stayed out of their way.

"I'm going to stay," Naruto said bluntly. "I can leave Konoha legally, and I will. I can't stay there, with everything you found out. I don't want to start to hate my friends back there."

"I am glad to hear that, and not only for selfish reasons," Itachi said quietly. "Do you want to tell Leader, or shall I?"

"You do it," Naruto said. He stood up to go to the bedroom, to accept that he had made this choice.

"Naruto," Sasuke said.

Running a hand through his hair, Naruto turned back. For once, there was no smile on his face. "What, Sasuke?"

Internally, Sasuke winced at how much Naruto was hurting, but he kept it hidden. "Do you mind if I stay as well?" He hated asking Naruto's permission, but he understood that if Naruto didn't want him to stay, he would have to leave.

"You-want to stay?" Naruto had expected an argument, had expected to fight it out with Sasuke the next day.

"Itachi is the only one left," Sasuke said quietly. "He says I can stay."

Naruto started to ask why Sasuke was asking him, if Itachi and the Leader had already agreed, but he figured out the answer before he spoke. Sasuke's sharp eyes caught the reaction.

"That's right. They want you, not me. If you don't want me to stay, the Leader will toss me out."

"Well, of course I want you to stay!" Naruto snapped. "I expected to have to convince you, though." He stalked off into the bedroom without another word.

"Shall we make those permanent now?" Itachi asked Sasuke. "Or do you want to wait until the month is up?"

"The idiot isn't going to change his mind, and neither am I." Sasuke knelt in front of his brother and held out his hands.

"I need to get a few things," Itachi said. "Come with me."

Sasuke got to his feet, frowning. "Where?"

"My rooms. My sealing supplies are there. I only brought essentials when I started sleeping here."

Sasuke looked around with interest as they walked down the hall. Based on what he could see from the hall, all the rooms on this hall were large suites, probably similar to Naruto's. He wasn't surprised to find Itachi had one of those suites; Itachi was clearly a valued member of Akatsuki.

Sasuke started to poke through some of Itachi's things, but Itachi called him over to a rack of sealing scrolls.

"Find the one that says sealing supplies, please."

"Why?"

"Because I cannot read them, Otouto. I cannot read at all any longer. I have not memorized the placement of every storage scroll I own."

Sasuke winced and started looking through Itachi's scrolls. He found the sealing supplies fairly easily. "I have them."

"Let's do this here, so we don't bother Naruto."

"Do you need my eyes?"

"No. I don't want any of my chakra in you while I do this. There is some chance the restrictions would affect me as well. Those seals are engraved; I can do it by touch."

Sasuke started. He couldn't do complicated seals by feel. He couldn't imagine the level of skill involved.

They knelt across from each other. "I am going to take those off you before I alter them, but I hope you realize this will be painful. When I make them permanent, the effects will be much more invasive than they have been thus far."

"I didn't realize, but I'm not surprised. Is that a one time thing, or will it happen every time you alter which seals are active?"

"It is a one time thing. If it were not, I would figure something else out."

"Do you want to knock me out before you take the cuffs and collar off?"

"Do I need to?" Itachi asked. His Sharingan eyes, as he looked levelly at Sasuke, did not look blind. Sasuke had no idea how Naruto had realized. "Is the cursed seal going to be a problem?"

"No. Do what you need to. I've dealt with Orochimaru's seal for years." Still, he winced when Itachi removed the collar, feeling the seal come back to life. Immediately, he felt angrier, less inclined to let Itachi seal him again, but he forced those feelings down. He made himself release his Sharingan, unable to remember when he'd activated his bloodline, and did his best to suppress his own chakra. Rather than listening to the whispers of the cursed seal in his mind, Sasuke focused on what his brother was doing. And was impressed all over again with Itachi's genius and abilities.

Itachi was using concentrated fire to draw a seal in the air that he then pressed onto one of the cuffs, where it burned into the metal.

"Can you see the fire?"

"Yes. I can also draw it larger and then compress it before I apply the fire to the metal." Itachi used Suiton to cool the cuff and ran his fingertips over the engraved seal to check its accuracy.

"I can't believe you paint your nails."

"I like how it looks," Itachi said and smirked. "Want to borrow some nail polish, Otouto?" He didn't wait for an answer before once again starting to manipulate fire.

"I have nowhere near as much control over lightning as you do over fire," Sasuke said sourly. Then he shrugged off the envy. He wouldn't be using elemental manipulation much after this.

"I am five years older than you. I have also been Akatsuki for nearly a decade." He pressed another seal into the metal.

When Itachi finished with the engravings and had checked every seal, he dug through his sealing supplies for powder and a bowl. He mixed the powder with his blood. "You said you would help?"

"Yes."

"Channel a little bit of your chakra into this. It should make the adjustment easier for you."

Sasuke obeyed, very careful not to give any indication that he was doing anything other than what Itachi had told him to do. He knew Itachi was watching him very carefully.

"That's enough." Itachi spread the mixture over the newly engraved seals. When that was done, he dried the blood with more fire and channeled his own chakra into each of the three bands. He was the only one who would be able to affect the seals. He checked them one more time and looked at Sasuke. For a moment, his perfect mask cracked, and Sasuke saw regret on his brother's face. Regret he now remembered seeing once before, when he had chased after Itachi after the massacre. Itachi had cried then. There were no tears now.

They had both come a long way from the children they had been at the time of the massacre.

"I am sorry."

"I know," Sasuke said quietly. "I know our relationship will never be what it was, but you're the only family I have left. Naruto never gave up on me, even after what I did to him. He knows the worst of me and still calls me his friend, even his brother. I made my choices, Nii-san. Several of them were bad ones. I don't feel any need to make amends to you, I believed exactly what you told me to believe, but I am still willing."

"No, you don't owe me any apologies. Are you ready?"

Sasuke nodded. "Collar or cuffs first?"

"Cuffs first. Hold out one hand, please."

Itachi placed the cuff carefully around Sasuke's left wrist and closed it. He swiped some blood around the seam where the cuff closed. He carefully kept his blood away from the seals for the moment.

"I don't feel anything."

"You won't until all three are on and I activate them." He placed the second cuff. "Lift your chin and hold very still, please."

Sasuke held his breath as Itachi placed the collar around his neck. It was lightly padded and slightly loose so that it wouldn't choke him. It was a little heavy but not uncomfortable. He stretched his neck, took a deep breath, and swallowed hard. The collar did not bother him. "It's fine," he told Itachi.

"Good. The next part is what will hurt. Are you ready?"

Sasuke took another deep breath and did his best to brace himself. "All right. Go ahead."

"Keep your Sharingan inactive, no matter how much this hurts. Remember what happened when you tried to activate it under my seals before."

"I remember. Just get it over with, Nii-san."

Itachi's speed was fast enough that even Sharingan had trouble following his hands, as Kakashi had once noticed. He used that speed now to spread his blood and chakra over first the cuffs then the collar.

Sasuke felt Itachi's chakra burn through him, running through his chakra coils and his blood, and screamed. His muscles spasmed with pain, and he fell on his side, unable to move. It seemed to last for hours before the burning began to fade, taking his chakra with it. He lay on the ground, panting from the pain, and flinched away from Itachi's offered hand. "Give me a minute," he managed.

Itachi nodded, his expression as blank as ever. He knelt beside Sasuke and quietly bandaged his bloody hand while he waited for Sasuke to recover.

Finally, Sasuke had his breathing under control and had stopped shaking. He accepted the hand Itachi offered once again to kneel in front of Itachi. "Thanks," he muttered. Abruptly, he realized that the cuffs and collar were now skin tight, but the collar hadn't bothered him when he was panting earlier. He frowned down at his wrist and twisted and contorted it every way he could to try and see if the cuff would constrict him. Instead, although the metal seemed solid, it somehow adjusted to remain skin tight and no tighter, no matter how he moved. The collar seemed the same. They also seemed more comfortable now. It wasn't like they had gotten any lighter, but he seemed to notice the weight less.

"They are part of you now," Itachi explained quietly. "I bound them to your chakra system but also to your blood and bone. They will adjust to you, and they will feel like part of you. They should be more comfortable now."

"They are," Sasuke agreed and didn't comment further. "Will you adjust them to give me back my Sharingan, please? Or do I not get to have Sharingan now, since we're not on a mission?"

"Come here."

The adjustment only took another few minutes. When they were done, Itachi resealed his sealing supplies in his scroll and handed it to Sasuke. "Put that back where you found it, please."

"So being blind does affect you."

"Nearly blind. And of course it does. I have simply accommodated. And to be honest, losing my vision affects me more out of battle than in. I have also been rather careful, as I did not wish to give away my weakness. I did not expect Naruto to figure it out."

"What bothers you most?" Sasuke asked as he carefully put the scroll back where he found it. He had enough sense not to move things around in a blind man's room.

"Probably not being able to read," Itachi said honestly. "That or not being able to do traditional seal work any longer. I also dislike having to rely on others."

Somehow, it made Sasuke feel better that Itachi had to struggle with going blind. It made Itachi more human, more someone to whom Sasuke could relate. He thought that was probably why Itachi had told him at all.

Following Itachi back out into the hall, Sasuke ran his fingers over the collar and accepted that it was permanent. He hadn't belonged to himself since his Chuunin exam. First, Orochimaru had branded him. He'd known the whole time he was in Oto that the cursed seal meant his body belonged to Orochimaru. Now, he was a collared pet.

But Sasuke preferred being Itachi's collared pet to Orochimaru's property.

That night, Itachi screamed his way out of a nightmare after only a couple of hours of sleep. What he had done to Sasuke had brought back his old memories, memories of when he had acted the sociopath and tortured Sasuke. Memories of when he had massacred his family.

When Itachi was awake, he found Naruto sitting beside him, talking to him. Sasuke was sitting up across the room, staring at them. The only thing keeping Sasuke on the other side of the room was that he could not move closer. Sasuke had also been the one to remind Naruto that touching a high class, rogue ninja in the midst of a nightmare was a bad idea.

Disoriented from the nightmare, Itachi needed a minute to recognize where he was. Naruto's voice helped him remember but did not help him calm. Though he couldn't see anything, poor eyes combined with a dark room rendered him completely blind, and the nightmare had knocked out his sensory technique, he could feel Sasuke and Naruto staring at him. Unable to stand it, he got to his feet, using a hand on the wall to orient. "Excuse me," he whispered and followed the wall to the bathroom, where he fumbled the light on and scowled to discover he still couldn't see anything. Ignoring what that might mean about his eyes, he splashed water on his face and combed wet fingers through his long hair.

Though they kept their voices down, Itachi's hearing was sensitive enough that he couldn't help hearing the conversation back in the bedroom, though they probably thought the sound of running water covered them.

"When he gets back, take him out for a walk. A long walk, preferably outside. Then bring him back here, brew him some tea, and make him drink it."

"Why such a specific suggestion?"

"It's what our mother used to do for him."

Yes, it was, but Itachi didn't appreciate the reminder when he'd just dreamed of killing her.

"Was this common?"

"He was born into the third shinobi world war, and he was in ANBU before he was a teenager. He always had nightmares. It was one of the few times he was easy to read. I used to get up and sit with him, but I can't do that tonight. Besides, I think having to deal with me would only make things worse."

"I'll take care of it," Naruto said.

"And Naruto? He's blind. Whatever he does to compensate, it's not working right now."

"You don't have to tell me that, Teme. I probably know more about how well he can see than you do." Naruto also knew that it bothered Itachi more than he let on, without having needed to hear the conversation the brothers had had. "I will handle it."

"I know that, idiot. I wouldn't be sending you to take care of my brother if I didn't."

"Much as we'd both enjoy a fight right now, I have something more important to do." Naruto walked over to the door of the bathroom. "Finished?" he asked quietly.

"Yes. I'll be all right, Naruto. Go back to bed."

"You know better," Naruto said. "We're going for a walk, just like Sasuke suggested."

Itachi was too tired to be surprised at Naruto once again seeming to know too much. "As Sasuke also said, I cannot see anything at the moment." He wasn't sure if his eyes had finally failed for good or if he'd get back some vision after some more sleep.

"Then give me your hand. You can trust me, Itachi."

Itachi took a deep breath and gave in, walking to the door of the bathroom. He held out his hand to where he sensed Naruto standing. "I can tell you where to go, even if I can't see."

"Good enough. I still don't know much about Ame." Naruto took Itachi's hand. "Rather hold my hand or my arm?"

Itachi frowned. He'd never done this before except with one of his own clones. Ironically, his clones were not blind. He considered saying he would just summon one but didn't think Naruto would be convinced. "It is easier if I hold your arm."

Naruto nodded and tucked Itachi's hand in his elbow. "Let's go." He walked back through the bedroom, nodding to Sasuke but not stopping. Sasuke was visibly frustrated, but he watched them walk from the room without another word. If he were free, even just to move around Naruto's suite, he would have the tea brewed for whenever they got back, at least. Instead, he was stuck sitting on his futon in the dark, waiting.

It had hurt to hear Itachi screaming. He'd screamed for nearly ten minutes before he woke. He'd have woken sooner if Naruto had touched him, but he would have come awake attacking. Even if they'd thrown something at him from a safe distance, he probably would have sent a jutsu at them before he realized they'd just been trying to wake him up. And Itachi's jutsu were not something Sasuke wanted to deal with, especially when he couldn't dodge. It was safer for all three of them to wait for Itachi to wake on his own or in answer to their calls, even though it had been harder for them while they listened.

One relief was that Itachi hadn't said anything, just screamed. They hadn't had to listen to what he was dreaming. His cries had been bad enough that Sasuke didn't want to go to sleep for fear of suffering his own nightmare.

Itachi did not find it difficult to follow Naruto. By walking on Naruto's arm, Itachi stayed a step behind and had a little time to react to any changes in direction. Naruto also moved fairly slowly and spoke up about any potential obstacles. Naruto actually did a better job of leading than Itachi's clones, which shared Itachi's pride and stoicism. His clones knew exactly how well he could see and how he reacted, but they also shared his belief that he ought to be able to adjust and cope better than he sometimes could. Besides, the clones weren't blind.

Itachi directed them out of the tower and to an indoor park, where they could wander while staying out of Ame's rain. They walked for most of an hour in silence. Itachi didn't feel like talking, and Naruto didn't press him. Just as walks with his mother had calmed him back in Konoha, walking with Naruto calmed him now. It didn't matter that he couldn't see Naruto; he could sense Naruto's presence beside him, feel Naruto's warm skin under his hand, and hear Naruto's soft voice telling him his surroundings, and that was enough.

"Will you take me back now?" Itachi asked finally, when the last of the shadows from the nightmare had faded.

"Of course. We'll have tea. I will make it when we get back."

"I don't think so," Itachi said. "Forgive me, but I am not sure you know how to make a proper cup of tea, and I could do it blindfolded. If you pass me what I need, it won't be a problem."

"Fine. I do know how to make tea, though." Naruto started leading the way out of the indoor garden. "Thank you for trusting me, Itachi. I know you hate relying on anyone like this."

"You have come to trust me since I brought you to Akatsuki. It is only fair that I have learned to trust you. Was there blood on my face when I woke up?"

"Yes."

So he'd activated his Mangekyo Sharingan in his sleep. That was probably why he couldn't see. If he was very lucky, his eyes would have recovered slightly by morning. Either way, he'd see the medics. Fortunately, he already had an appointment, his usual appointment to treat his illness. "Is it gone now?"

"Yes. I would have told you before we left if it wasn't."

Itachi nodded. "My thanks." He didn't want Sasuke to see him with blood all over his face. "Do you remember the way back to the tower?" He could tell by the feel of the air that they had left the garden.

"Yes."

Back in the suite, Naruto helped Itachi find the supplies necessary to make tea but didn't argue any further to make it himself. When Itachi fumbled to find something he'd set down, Naruto guided his hand. Itachi made three cups, knowing Sasuke wouldn't have gone back to sleep. He and Naruto brought the tea back into the bedroom rather than letting Sasuke up. After getting Itachi comfortably settled on the bed, Naruto delivered a cup to Sasuke.

Sipping his tea, Sasuke studied Itachi and was relieved to see how much better Itachi looked. The walk and the tea had obviously helped.

When they'd finished their tea, Itachi started to go back to his futon, but Naruto grabbed his wrist.

"Is there something I can do for you, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto took a deep breath. "Would you like to sleep the rest of the night in my bed?" he asked. Offering made him nervous, and he hoped Itachi wouldn't take the offer the wrong way, but it was something he'd always wanted when he'd had nightmares alone as a child. Itachi wasn't a child, but Naruto had noticed that his presence had helped Itachi calm down while they walked.

Itachi frowned. "Why. . . ?" he asked. He desperately wished he could see; Naruto was still fairly easy to read, but that required being _able_ to see the boy's expression. Itachi couldn't. His jutsu, even if it had been active, wouldn't fix that. If he'd been looking through someone's eyes, he'd be able to see, but that was his only choice.

Sasuke might not be able to read his brother, but he could see Naruto's embarrassment and fear of Itachi's reaction. "Just do it, Itachi," he snapped. "I can hardly crawl in with you, and I doubt you want to share with me. Unless something has changed, you sleep better with someone beside you."

Itachi nodded slowly. He had always slept better on the nights when his small brother had slipped into his bed. Still, this was a very different situation and awkward. "You trust me to sleep beside you?" he asked.

"Yes," Naruto said immediately. "I trust you, Itachi. That's absolute."

At first, as they crawled into the bed and tried to get settled, they were hypersensitive to any contact, but they both found that they got comfortable surprisingly quickly. They slept soon after, with Sasuke looking on. Sasuke didn't sleep until he was sure they would both stay asleep for a while. There was so little he could do for them, a pet who was safely leashed, but that much he could do.

The next morning, Itachi's eyes worked again, as well as they ever did anymore. He couldn't hide his relief from Naruto that he was able to see the blurred room around him, lit by early morning light. He'd been frustrated by how little he could see for a while, but having experienced what he would deal with when his eyes finally failed entirely, he was suddenly grateful for even his poor vision.

"You should still see your medic," Naruto told him.

"I intend to. I already have an appointment this afternoon, while you're at your lesson with Leader."

"How is your illness?"

Sasuke looked up immediately, very interested in the answer.

"Something you don't know?" Itachi asked softly. He doubted it, and his eyes still worked well enough for him to see the swift glance Naruto cast at Sasuke.

"I know you're doing better than you were when I first got here. You're healthier, healing."

"Yes I am," Itachi agreed. "At this point, the only reason I still have appointments is to make sure I will not relapse. I'll have those appointments for a long time, though the frequency will decrease."

Naruto nodded. He caught the shadings of truth in Itachi's soft, poisonous voice but did not call him on them. Naruto also saw Sasuke's relief. "Is there any permanent damage?"

"I have slight scarring on my lungs that will bother me after extensive physical activity, but that's all. Akatsuki has very good medics." If he had gone to them sooner, there would be no lingering damage. But he had wanted to die.

Until Pein had somehow figured out that an end of the world weapon wouldn't enable him to create peace. Itachi and Konan had been the two Pein had spoken to about his change of heart, and it had been enough for Itachi to decide the world might just have something worth living. With Naruto and Sasuke here and willing to get along with him, he wasn't regretting his decision.

After breakfast, Itachi was the one to make a suggestion on how to spend their morning. "Naruto has no scheduled lessons until he meets with Leader this afternoon. Would you two like to go down to a training court and do some taijutsu practice and sparring?"

Sasuke startled. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"You've bought some trust," Itachi said. "I will be watching carefully, but you did say you wanted to train and spar." Sasuke had behaved perfectly on the mission, even when the seals went inactive while he was fighting. The cursed seal would have been affecting him, but he still didn't attack anyone but their enemies. He didn't go crazy as he had when he first got the seal in the Forest of Death.

Instead, Sasuke had gone out of his way to be helpful. He had willingly accepted permanent seals that cut him off from many of his skills. And he had told Naruto what to do when Itachi woke screaming from a nightmare.

Though Sasuke would never be completely trustworthy, he had earned a little freedom.

"Thanks, Nii-san. I would enjoy training or sparring. There are things about the Uchiha taijutsu style I have never mastered. I tried to learn from scrolls, but that isn't perfect."

Naruto rested a light hand on Itachi's shoulder for a moment. "Then let's go. It'll be good to spar."

There was one small delay while Itachi removed the cuff that kept Sasuke from leaving the suite and took advantage of the opportunity to check the permanent cuffs and collar.

"They aren't bothering you?" Itachi asked quietly.

"They're fine." Sasuke activated his Sharingan briefly to make his point. It took every bit of the chakra Itachi allowed him, but he could use it. To his relief, he felt nothing from the cursed seal and no increased aggression. Itachi had done a good job with the seals.

Naruto and Sasuke spent the morning sparring with each other while Itachi gave both of them tips. They stuck to taijutsu, both aware the whole time that Sasuke had no choice.

Sasuke was also very careful not to hurt Naruto. Before he'd left Konoha, he and Naruto had simply accepted that they'd come out of any sparring session with plenty of bruises at the very least, but Sasuke couldn't trust Itachi to be so tolerant. Naruto was not so careful, and Sasuke's reticence eventually frustrated Naruto into losing his temper.

"Why the hell are you treating me like I'm made of glass?" he demanded. "I'm not that fucking breakable!"

Sasuke stepped back and folded his arms, glaring. "You idiot!" he snapped. "Five seconds of thought ought to tell you. Being allowed to spar is a privilege for me now! One I don't want to lose. In case you haven't noticed, you have a guard who won't be too happy if you get hurt. If I do anything Itachi doesn't like, he won't let me spar again."

"Damn it!" Naruto snapped. Itachi's silence told Naruto that Sasuke was exactly right.

Sasuke sighed. "It's not stopping us from sparring," he said. "And there's no restrictions on you. I don't care if I come out with bruises. Now, let's get back to sparring."

"Fine," Naruto said, but he was more careful, too. It took some of the fun out of the sparring, but it was still good to practice with Sasuke again. With Itachi's advice, they both found their taijutsu improving.

At lunch, they returned to Naruto's rooms, and Itachi replaced the cuff that kept Sasuke from leaving. Sasuke sighed when it closed around his wrist above the cuff that was now a permanent part of him, but he didn't argue. Itachi was kind enough to leave a scroll on a couple of taijutsu techniques for Sasuke to study before taking Naruto to his lesson with Pein.

"At least it's a comfortable cage," Sasuke muttered as he watched Itachi close the door behind them. For a brief moment, their eyes met, but Itachi didn't say anything.

After dropping Naruto off at Pein's office, Itachi headed for the medic and had to admit that he'd spent over an hour completely blind after accidentally using his Mangekyo Sharingan, though his eyes had recovered almost to the point where they'd been the previous day.

After some tests and a few healing techniques, the medic sat back with a sigh. "I don't think I'll be telling you anything you don't know when I say that going blind is inevitable for you at this point."

"No. Even if I never use Mangekyo again, it is too late for my eyes."

"Yes, well. How fast it happens will obviously depend on how much you use your Mangekyo Sharingan. I have done my best to stabilize your eyes, to slow the deterioration."

"Thank you."

The medic shrugged. "It is little enough. By my best guess, you will now have a period of complete blindness after every use of your Mangekyo Sharingan. Each time, it will take longer for your sight to recover, and it will recover less. You need to be aware of that and prepared before you use the technique. You also need to prepare for the day your vision won't come back."

Itachi nodded. He had realized the previous night how big a difference there was between being nearly and totally blind. Still, he had been training. If he hadn't been so disoriented by the nightmare, and if Naruto hadn't been stubborn, Itachi would have had a sensory technique active and wouldn't have needed Naruto to guide him. Still, the previous night had taught him that there would be times he would need help, perhaps more than his clones could provide.

"Is there anything I need to do?" Itachi asked.

"Avoid straining your eyes. If you avoid using even your regular Sharingan except when you need it, that will buy you a little extra time. If you can tolerate wearing a blindfold in safe territories, that would buy you more, though I am uncertain how much. It might not be enough extra to be worth it. Other than that, come see me each time you have to use Mangekyo Sharingan and continue our regular appointments. There's nothing else to be done. I do have your regular medicine, and you can decrease the dosage by half this time. You're nearly at full health, and your disease shows no signs of recurring."

At least there was some good news, though the news about his eyes was hardly unexpected. Itachi took the medicine, bowed slightly to the medic, and left to go collect Naruto from Pein's office. He had no doubt that Pein would already know everything the medic had said by the time he got there.

Slipping into the room at the Leader's invitation, Itachi had to smile at how animated Naruto seemed. Clearly, he enjoyed these lessons with Pein. Itachi turned to the leader and offered a much deeper bow than he had given to the medic. "Leader-sama."

"Itachi. Join us for a few minutes."

Itachi glided forward and obediently took a seat next to Naruto. "How are your lessons going, if I may ask without prying into clan matters?" he asked.

"Well," Pein said.

"They're great!" Naruto added.

Itachi smiled. "I'm glad."

Pein nodded. "When do you leave for Konoha?" he asked.

"I had thought to go in four days," Itachi said. "Though it is obviously up to Naruto."

"It's fine with me," Naruto said.

"I assume you intend to take your brother, Itachi?"

"I had thought to," Itachi agreed.

"Fine. Then Kisame goes as well and will watch him somewhere outside the village."

Itachi nodded. "I expected as much," he admitted.

"I also want to meet him before you leave. This afternoon, by preference. Bring him to me for a meeting sometime in the next few hours."

"Of course, Leader-sama."

"You aren't going to make him leave, are you?" Naruto asked.

"No. I want to meet him _because_ he is staying. I want to have met everyone who lives in my tower."

"Oh," Naruto said and nodded.

"You can go," Pein said, but he called Itachi back before he could follow Naruto out the door. "One last thing, Itachi. You are banned from taking solo missions. For good."

Itachi sighed silently. It wasn't a surprise, but it was still irritating. Not that it would have much of an effect at this point; Naruto had agreed to stay, and Itachi was assigned to him for the duration.

Itachi wouldn't be the only member of Akatsuki with that restriction. Hidan and Deidara had to have their partners with them, too. However, they needed their partners because they were inclined to go overboard, not because the Leader thought they couldn't take care of themselves.

"I have no doubt you could handle any situation, but I have become accustomed to having my second in command come back uninjured from missions. No matter how good you are, there will be a moment of disorientation when your eyes or your techniques fail. I want someone with you for that moment."

"I do understand, Leader-sama. Does Naruto qualify?"

"Yes. Your brother doesn't."

That wasn't a surprise, and Itachi simply nodded and left the room without another word.

"What's got you upset?" Naruto asked. He was tempted to reach out and take Itachi's hand, wanting to tuck it in his arm as he had the previous night, but he refrained. Itachi was not blind now and had his jutsu active; he would not appreciate any implications that he was helpless.

Itachi glanced down at Naruto. He didn't need perfect vision to figure out what Naruto was thinking. After a fairly isolated childhood, Naruto craved tactile contact, though he had few people with whom he could indulge that craving and none since he had come to Akatsuki. After the previous night's events, Itachi had started to move out of the 'untouchable' category, but he knew he was still an intimidating person, one Naruto didn't want to offend. "If you want to touch me, go ahead. We already woke up tangled up this morning." Without dwelling on the subject, Itachi repeated the Leader's new restriction.

"But why? I don't care how bad your eyes get, I can't imagine you losing to many people."

Itachi closed his eyes. "Do you mind if we go to my rooms? I would prefer to discuss this somewhere other than the hall and before we go back to Sasuke."

"Sure."

"Do you remember the way?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Lead me, please." Itachi held out his hand and settled at Naruto's shoulder when Naruto set the hand on his arm. Though he didn't release the jutsu, Itachi focused more on following Naruto's lead than what his technique told him about his surroundings, and he didn't open his eyes. In his rooms, he began making tea, as he had the previous night. "I am going blind, Naruto-kun. But you knew that. Working with the medics and Leader, I'll be able to save my Sharingan, but my vision is a lost cause." He explained what the medic had said about what would happen each time he used his Mangekyo Sharingan and what Pein had said about that moment of disorientation, however brief.

"I get it. Like the first moment someone's under one of your more obvious genjutsu."

Itachi laughed softly. "I suppose so." He passed over a cup of tea. "I have little time before my eyes fail entirely. I have been training to compensate, but it is suddenly more urgent. I need to be able to function completely blind for hours at a time before I next need my Mangekyo Sharingan, because each use will leave me blind. I need to practice, but there are few people I can trust not to try to take advantage. There are people in Akatsuki who would love to take my position of second in command."

"You would win, but you don't want to bother with the fights," Naruto said.

"Exactly. With your permission, I would like to practice when I am with you and when we are training."

"All right. Whatever you want, just tell me."

"You have my thanks, Naruto-kun."

"What else is bothering you?"

Itachi didn't bother to hide his wince, knowing Naruto would see it anyway. "Leader wants to see Sasuke. I assume you are able to read him as well as you read me?"

Naruto blushed. "No, I can't. Yeah, I can read him but not as easily as I can read you."

"Why not? I had thought you could read me because you were used to reading him?"

"Yeah, that helped, but it isn't that simple." Naruto frowned, unusually concerned about offending someone. "Partly, it's because you know yourself a lot better than Sasuke does. You're self-aware and not prone to deluding yourself or being confused. Sasuke is. He loved you as much as he hated you for years, otherwise he never would have gotten so clingy when he found out the truth. But he denied it. He's harder to understand because he doesn't understand himself."

Itachi nodded. "What else?"

Naruto flinched and looked away.

"You won't offend me, Naruto-kun."

"You submit to me, Itachi," Naruto said finally. "You do it on more than just a superficial level. More than just a way to manipulate me into staying. That made it harder at first; I thought you had to have some ulterior motive or resent having to do as I say. I'm still a genin, and you're-well. When I figured out you were willing, I knew how to read you."

Frowning a little, Itachi considered that for a long moment and strained his eyes to take in as much as possible of Naruto's posture and expression. He didn't understand how his willingness to submit to Naruto would make him easier to read, but eventually, he decided to accept it. "All right. I am not offended."

"What does my ability to read you and Sasuke have to do with why you're upset?"

"I am concerned about the meeting between Leader and Sasuke. Leader dislikes Sasuke and is accepting his presence here for our sake. I doubt he will permit either of us to be present during the meeting. Sasuke is not trustworthy, you do understand that?"

"Yeah. He's a traitor, and his word isn't worth much. Not when his emotions get involved."

"Exactly. The seals I have placed on Sasuke help, but we are asking him to accept Sasuke as more than a prisoner who is kept heavily restricted at all times. I know how Leader thinks. _I_ don't trust Sasuke, and he's my brother. I believe he's sincere about wanting to stay with us, but however well I still understand him, I could be wrong. Or he could find out something that makes him change his mind. I have prevented Orochimaru's seal from affecting him most of the time, but Sasuke still isn't that stable."

"What will Nagato do?"

"Leader likes to use humiliation to remind people of their place. It is why Deidara has to deal with me whenever he gets too worked up."

Naruto could understand that. In fact, with Itachi's abilities with genjutsu, he was probably one of Nagato's favorite people for the job. "And he'll find some way to humiliate Sasuke."

Itachi nodded. "Sasuke got a full dose of our clan's traditional arrogance, even if he's suppressing it as hard as he can. Do you know what Sasuke believes he is while here?"

Naruto shook his head. He could guess, but Sasuke had been careful about what he said.

"My pet. There is a certain amount of truth in that."

"And you think Nagato will take advantage of that."

"I know he will. I am uncertain as to how much to warn Sasuke before the meeting."

Naruto nodded. "I don't know. You are good at manipulation. Do you want me to talk to him?"

"No. You've never seen Leader like that, and I doubt you ever will. He's decided to treat you like family." Itachi took a deep breath. "I will manage. Do you have anything else to speak to me about?"

Naruto considered Itachi very carefully, trying to be sure he knew everything that had upset Itachi. "You're also worried about going back to Konoha," he guessed.

"A little. It is not pleasant to go back there. I will be going with you, but if they figure out who I am, we will both be in trouble. It will make it much harder for you to resign rather than going missing nin."

"I could go alone." But he knew even as he made the offer that Itachi would never accept.

"Lead me back to your rooms?" Itachi asked softly.

Back in Naruto's rooms, Itachi considered how he wanted to approach the discussion with Sasuke. Naruto glanced between them and headed into the bedroom to let them talk alone.

"All right, what's going on, Nii-san?" Sasuke asked.

"Leader wants to meet with you. It is not a meeting you are going to enjoy. Leader is going to find a way to embarrass you, to remind you that you are here at his sufferance."

Sasuke nodded slowly. He looked up and met Itachi's eyes. For once, Itachi's eyes were dark, without the Sharingan, and Sasuke could actually see what Naruto had meant, could see that Itachi was going blind. "So you want me to hold my temper. I can do that. I'll do what it takes to stay, Nii-san. I know I'll never be a member. I know you'll never trust me. I can live with that."

"Can you, Otouto? The rest of your life could be a very long time."

"I would rather spend my life as your pet than as Orochimaru's property or alone." When Itachi didn't move, Sasuke scowled. "Do you want me to get on my knees to prove it? If you can do it, I can."

Itachi nodded. "Fine." He didn't completely agree; being on his knees to Naruto didn't bother Itachi, but it would bother Sasuke. Still, he would accept Sasuke's word. "Let's go."

"You have to take the cuff off to let me out of these rooms," Sasuke said coolly.

"I haven't forgotten. Give me your hand." A swipe of blood and Itachi's chakra released the cuff, and Itachi led the way to Pein's office. "Remember to keep your temper."

When they entered at Pein's invitation, Itachi bowed, but Sasuke did not. He did stand at attention. At Pein's raised eyebrows, Sasuke said, "Itachi has made it clear I will not be one of yours, so I will not pretend I am."

"Fine," Pein said. "Itachi, excuse us."

Itachi bowed again and left without protest, taking up a guard position outside the door. Sasuke was in no real danger. "I'll take over, Kisame," he called. He didn't need his eyes or his jutsu to know Naruto was hovering down the hall.

Kisame snorted and left while Naruto walked over to stand opposite Itachi. Then they both waited.

Inside the office, Pein said, "Sit down, boy. Tell me. What were you going to do when Orochimaru tried to take your body?"

"Kill him," Sasuke said simply.

"Breaking your word and turning traitor a second time."

"Yes. I never claimed to be trustworthy. Itachi and Naruto are what I have left, but I have already betrayed them both." Naruto by going to Orochimaru and shoving a fist through his chest. As for Itachi-Sasuke had betrayed Itachi by believing the loving but distant brother could become a monster. Even if Sasuke had only believed what Itachi told him, it was still a betrayal. "I will do what it takes to be permitted to stay with them." He lifted his hand, traced the collar he wore. "The seals are already permanent and locked to my brother's blood and chakra."

"So you'll agree to be confined to my cousin's rooms for good?"

"Your cousin?" Sasuke asked slowly. "You mean Naruto?" That would explain a great deal.

"I do. Will you agree to it?"

Sasuke took a deep breath. "If that is what it takes. I would prefer to be a little more useful. I do not want to resent what family I have left. The seals will not make me resent them, but living trapped might. I know I am Itachi's pet more than his little brother now," though Itachi was the one who had quietly insisted on the familial titles, Sasuke was all too well aware of what he was to his brother, "but a pet can still help them."

"I know the agreement you made with Itachi," Pein said. "It is a risk, but I will take that risk for my cousin and my second in command. With one additional stipulation."

Sasuke nodded. This stipulation would be what Itachi had been warning him about.

Keeping ringed eyes focused on Sasuke, Pein pulled something out of his desk and tossed it across the room, and Sasuke snapped it out of the air. He frowned down at the coil of leather in his hand and needed only a second to figure out what it was. "A leash."

"It is not intended as a restraint," Pein said. "You can obviously remove it any time."

"So the point is that I will put myself on a leash and remind myself that I get to stay here as long as I am Itachi's pet." When Pein raised an eyebrow, Sasuke frowned. "I am not Itachi, but I'm not an idiot."

Inclining his head, Pein smiled slightly. "I will not expect it while you're training under Itachi's eyes or when you're on a mission, but when you are not training or working or confined in my cousin's rooms, I expect you on that leash. If I catch you off it without a reason in my territory, I will find a more pointed way to remind you. Train with them, go on missions with them, and explore my country with them, but do not ever forget."

"This will serve your purpose nicely," Sasuke said. He ran his fingers over his collar and found the loop. The end of the leash attached with a simple clip, one Sasuke could undo any time. That made Pein's intentions more pointed; Sasuke would be doing this willingly. Sasuke met Pein's ringed eyes steadily and attached the clip. His eyes flashed once, Sharingan red, before he suppressed his bloodline and waited for what Pein would say next.

"Good. You will only ever work with Itachi, doing what he permits, so I do not expect to see you often. You're dismissed."

Again, Sasuke didn't bow; for all that he'd gotten even more freedom than he'd expected from the Leader of Akatsuki, his pride stung. Just as Pein had intended.

In the hall, Sasuke passed the free end of the leash to Itachi without a word and watched in surprise as Itachi frowned and ran his fingers up the strip of leather to where it clipped to the collar, using his fingertips to see what his eyes couldn't.

"I understand," Itachi said quietly and withdrew his hand.

"I don't like it," Naruto snapped.

"And I don't want to talk about it," Sasuke retorted. "It means I can go wherever Itachi is willing to take me. I made my bargain, Naruto."

"Speaking of, we could consider eating out this evening," Itachi said. "If you are willing to let people see you, Otouto, I know several good places to eat. I haven't suggested it before because you couldn't have come."

Sasuke touched one cuff and shrugged. "I'm not eager to be stared at, but I would enjoy going out." And he might as well start getting used to it. As he'd told Naruto, it was the bargain he'd made for a bit of freedom; he wasn't going to let shame take that freedom away.

"Fine." Itachi considered his jutsu and saving his eyes, but he chose not to be led this time. "I do not enjoy cutting myself up multiple times a day. I may alter the seals that keep you confined to Naruto's rooms, but until and unless I do, you get one trip out a day. Keep that in mind."

Sasuke nodded. "Do we need to go back to the rooms, or shall we go straight to dinner?"

Itachi thought about the places he knew to eat and chose one that was casual but had good food, including ramen for Naruto. It was also a place that was familiar with Akatsuki members. "I need to stop by my rooms but not by Naruto's." At some point, they were going to have to discuss permanent room arrangements, since Naruto was staying, but Itachi intended to leave that subject alone until they got back from Konoha.

People did stare, but they also stayed out of the group's way. Itachi was a known face in Ame. Unlike Konan, he was not involved in ruling the country, but people knew he was close to their ruler and powerful. Unlike most of the world, the people of Ame did not fear Itachi, but they were still cautious of him. They knew what he'd done to his clan.

The world knew what Uchiha Itachi had done to his clan the night he left Konoha. He'd helped make sure of that, helping to hide that Konoha had ordered it.

They enjoyed their dinner out. Naruto helped Itachi read the menu and the check, when it came, without comment or being asked. Sasuke felt bad for not thinking to do it first, when he was the one to whom Itachi had admitted he could no longer read, but he eventually decided Itachi must have told Naruto when he wasn't around. He happened to be wrong; Naruto simply knew. Itachi merely thanked Naruto for his help and paid the check.

Sasuke had no money and rather doubted that would change anytime soon, perhaps ever. Naruto did have money, particularly since he had the winnings from the casino, but read Itachi well enough to know that arguing would be pointless, so he didn't bother.

They spent the remaining few days before they left for Konoha training, but since the first dinner out had gone well, they also spent a bit of time every afternoon or evening out in Ame before confining Sasuke back in Naruto's rooms. As Pein had implied, Sasuke took charge of his leash, remembering to attach the clip to his collar and hand the other end to Itachi every time they went out. This served the exact purpose Pein had intended; it reminded Sasuke to be on his best behavior to keep his place.

But the leash was no where in sight when they left for Konoha. This time, all four of them wore masks. If someone identified Itachi in Konoha, there was guaranteed to be a fight. If they caught him, he'd probably be able to talk his way out of an execution, given that he had proof the massacre had been a mission, but he was still a missing nin and a member of Akatsuki. And even if he could get himself out of any trouble and back out of Konoha, which was not guaranteed, they would use his presence against Naruto. Itachi did not want to have to call in Sasuke and Kisame to rescue them, especially because he knew Naruto would have a hard time fighting people from Konoha, even if he had decided to leave.

Better all around if no one recognized Itachi. He had papers from Amegakure giving an alternate name, and he was quite capable of using a genjutsu to hide his face if he had to take his mask off. He'd also braided his hair instead of leaving it in his usual ponytail.

Naruto dressed as he had since he arrived in Ame, though he continued to grumble under his breath about the lack of orange. He sent a glare at Itachi and Sasuke when he caught Sasuke snickering and Itachi smirking while he tied off his braid.

Though Sasuke started to put on the same clothes he'd worn for the casino mission, Itachi intercepted him and passed him a different shirt. When he put it on, he found it covered his collar and cuffs. "I'm allowed to hide them?" he asked, surprised Pein would agree to that.

"It's just in case you have to go into Konoha," Itachi said. "Any other village, you wouldn't be."

That made a lot more sense, and Sasuke nodded.

Even Kisame was a little tense as they traveled toward Konoha. Itachi was his partner, and he didn't like letting Itachi go into the village that had the most reason to want him dead alone. In Kisame's opinion, Naruto didn't count; Itachi was under orders to put Naruto's safety first.

Itachi had no trouble getting them across the border, though he shook his head at the discovery that they still hadn't changed the security measures. They _knew_ they had an ex-ANBU missing nin, and they knew he'd slipped over the border and into the village before.

"Don't complain about something that makes our lives easier," Kisame told him. "You're the one who'd prefer to avoid a fight."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Did I say anything?"

"Yes. Last time we did this."

Itachi shook his head as the other three laughed at him, but he briefly rested a hand on Kisame's shoulder in gratitude that he wouldn't say. The teasing had broken Naruto's nerves, even if it was at Itachi's expense.

Shortly after, Naruto and Itachi left Kisame and Sasuke behind as they took to the path that led to Konoha's main gates. Naruto had removed his mask and hood, fully intending to be recognized to keep as much attention as possible focused on him instead of Itachi. He also had a bit of Itachi's chakra in his eyes; Itachi could not activate his Sharingan in Konoha's walls for any reason unless someone had already identified him, so he needed tricks to support his eyes more than ever. As Naruto had proved, people could sense his jutsu, so he left it inactive and relied on Naruto's eyes to see.

They signed in at the gate to some raised eyebrows that Naruto was traveling with an Ame shinobi, but there was no shock at seeing him. Apparently, the news that Akatsuki had taken him, or more specifically that Itachi had taken him if Jiraiya's spy network had been particularly effective, hadn't spread through the lower ranks of shinobi in Konoha.

Still, Naruto wasn't surprised that an ANBU dropped down in front of him and told him to report to the Hokage less than ten minutes after he'd entered the village. Since he'd been heading there already, all this accomplished was to give him an escort that got him past various bureaucratic stops that might have slowed him down otherwise. But probably not; Naruto had a lot of experience getting into that office, and Itachi knew how ANBU got access. And it wasn't like that was knowledge they had to hide; Naruto was known for getting into secret places, generally for pranks. Itachi had been a little surprised to know how many of Konoha's secret ways Naruto knew, and Itachi was less likely than most to underestimate the boy.

Tsunade grabbed Naruto as soon as he stepped into the office and squeezed him in a tight hug. "Jiraiya told me Akatsuki had you. What happened? How did you get away? And who is this?" She finally noticed Itachi's presence and the mark of Amegakure on his mask. "You were in Ame?"

"Turns out I'm not quite the last Uzumaki," Naruto said. "My cousin is a shinobi in Ame with close connections to Ame's leader." Close, as in they were the same person, but that was more than Naruto was going to reveal. He would tell no lies, but the truth could be very misleading. "He found out I was in trouble and got me away. My guard, Raven, snuck me away."

"You're Raven?" Tsunade asked Itachi.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Even that wasn't a lie; it was a name Itachi had used before, since his own was known across the elemental nations after what he'd done to his clan. Though his reputation as a crazy mass murderer was often useful, there were other times when he didn't want to be recognized. Raven was an Ame nin in good standing and had been for years.

Listening, Naruto smiled a little. Itachi had altered his voice, made it harsher, but he hadn't quite been able to remove the taint of poison that always flavored his speech. Naruto would have had no trouble identifying the voice, but he was starting to realize he knew Uchiha Itachi better than just about anyone.

"Then I thank you for getting my precious person out of Akatsuki's hands."

Though Naruto wanted to flinch, he showed nothing. "That is not all they did, Tsunade-sama." And while she was still staring at him, puzzling over his unusual formality, Naruto placed the paperwork sentencing Sasuke to death if he was caught and the paperwork that forbade giving Naruto any promotions beyond genin level in front of her. As she stared at the paperwork, Naruto reached up and removed his forehead protector and placed it on top of Sasuke's execution order.

"What are you doing, Naruto?" Tsunade whispered.

"They do not want me to be a ninja. They do not value me. Even after everything I've done. It will never be enough. They will never trust me. I cannot do my job if I have to watch my back from my own superiors."

"And you have a cousin in Ame and a bodyguard that he provided for you." Tsunade could see where this was going, and she hated it. She hated more that she couldn't blame him. She desperately wanted to say that the papers were fake, that Naruto's cousin was trying to brainwash him, to steal Konoha's jinchuuriki, but the papers were real.

"That's right," Naruto agreed. He added a carefully written letter of resignation to the pile on her desk. "You and I both know they will have no trouble accepting my resignation. They think if I'm a civilian, I'll be back under their control."

"But you won't. As a civilian, you can't be declared a missing nin. You'll, legally, be free to leave Konoha. You know they'll still try to stop you. They'll still go after you. You're a jinchuuriki. You're a target."

"That is why I am here, Hokage-sama," Itachi said. "Naruto-sama's cousin arranged for me to be assigned directly to him as a bodyguard. I assure you, I am competent."

Tsunade closed her eyes. She was losing him, and there was nothing she could do.

"I'm sorry, Baa-chan. But I have to do this. I will not act against Konoha, you have my word on that."

Tsunade nodded slowly. "It will take a few days to go through."

"I understand," Naruto said. "It will give me time to catch up with my friends. I haven't seen them for some time."

Tsunade wanted to hope that seeing his friends, his precious people, would convince him to reconsider, but she knew that wasn't realistic. She could see it just from his level of comfort with his Ame bodyguard. And she could see how much his cousin valued him by the level of shinobi assigned to play bodyguard; Tsunade hadn't seen Raven fight, but she'd watched him move and observed his actions. Even in her office, he was on guard.

Instead of heading for one of his friends, Naruto went back to his apartment. The confrontation with Tsunade had tired him.

"Regrets?" Itachi asked in his own soft, poisonous voice after shutting the door behind them.

"No," Naruto said. "I'll miss them, but nothing says I can't visit. Knowing they'll miss me is not enough to convince me to stay."

"Fair enough."

A little under two hours later, Jiraiya was at Naruto's door. Itachi, who had never removed his mask and wouldn't without a very good reason and Naruto's permission as long as he was within Konoha's walls, answered the door and let Jiraiya in when Naruto gave permission.

"What can I do for you, Ero-Sennin?"

Jiraiya glanced at Itachi but focused on Naruto. "You can't go to Ame. You don't know everything that's going on there."

"Yes, I do," Naruto said.

"No, you don't, or you wouldn't be going there! If you want to leave Konoha, travel with me. Or settle somewhere, but not Amegakure! You'll be killed. There are people there-"

So Jiraiya had learned something about Akatsuki being based there. Out of everyone in Konoha, Naruto thought Jiraiya was the one he could trust. "Jiraiya," he said, and his use of the man's real name attracted Jiraiya's immediate attention. "I do know."

Naruto looked at Itachi, who understood almost immediately and removed his mask. "Jiraiya-sama."

"Uchiha Itachi." Jiraiya slowly sat down. Apparently, Naruto really did know Akatsuki was in Ame. But that didn't explain how this situation had come about or guarantee Naruto's safety.

"I can promise you that we are no threat to Naruto-sama."

Naruto winced; hearing that honorific from Itachi still really bothered him, even if he understood why Itachi was using it. Logically, it shouldn't bother him any more than seeing Itachi on his knees, something Naruto had seen countless times since arriving in Ame, but somehow, it was worse.

Itachi glanced at Naruto, amused at the reaction, but quickly turned his attention back to Jiraiya.

"I am genuinely assigned to be his bodyguard," Itachi continued. "His cousin wants him safe."

Jiraiya was one of the few who knew the truth about the Uchiha Massacre. He knew Itachi was sane. That didn't mean he was trustworthy. "Why the change of heart?"

"I cannot say much," Itachi said. "I will just say that there has been a slight restructuring in Akatsuki."

"I guess that explains the rumors that you took your brother from Orochimaru a week or two ago. Where is he?"

"Not in Konoha," Naruto said. "Since he's under a death sentence."

Jiraiya closed his eyes. Spymaster that he was, he well understood the power of information. "How much did you find out?"

"Everything," Itachi said softly. "I have always known Konoha's dirty little secrets, and that hardly changed when I became one of them. When Leader decided to recruit Naruto-sama instead of killing him, I told him. About the massacre, the laws about and sentence on my little brother, his heritage, and the laws about him. And a few other details."

Jiraiya was sure the revelations had been carefully calculated to best effect, but he also thought he saw that Naruto, his godson, might just be better off and happier away from Konoha. That left Jiraiya with his priorities torn, but so few people had ever put Naruto first. "So you'll not only go to Ame but to Akatsuki."

"Cousin Nagato has ties to both," Naruto said. "When he judges me to be skilled enough, I will be Akatsuki, yes."

"Within two years," Itachi said softly. "Probably less. I expect to have him at S-class level within six to nine months, though he will need to be a bit better than the average S-class shinobi before he becomes a full member of Akatsuki."

"You're training him." Jiraiya didn't know why he was surprised, when Itachi was clearly assigned as a bodyguard, but he was. "Isn't all this a little below your abilities, Itachi?"

Naruto bristled, even though he agreed.

"The details of Akatsuki mission assignments are not something I am willing to discuss with Konoha's spymaster. I am no longer a Konoha shinobi, and I am not acting against your village."

Technically, suborning the village's jinchuuriki might be considered acting against the village, but given some of Jiraiya's arguments with the Hokage and council about Naruto, Jiraiya was leaning toward Itachi's side. "Fair enough," he said. "Naruto is old enough to make his own decisions, but I am still concerned about him. Will your Leader permit me to visit Ame and check on Naruto?"

Itachi considered for a long moment. "Send word first. We ought to be able to make arrangements."

"Nagato'll make it work," Naruto added.

Jiraiya nodded and turned to leave, to think over everything he'd learned. Then he turned back. "Did you say Nagato?"

"Yes," Naruto said. "That's my cousin. Uzumaki Nagato."

Dazed at the thought that Nagato might still be alive, Jiriaya bade Itachi and Naruto an absent farewell and left the apartment.

"What was that about?" Naruto asked Itachi, who was carefully replacing his mask.

"Jiraiya trained Nagato and Konan for a while when they were children," Itachi said.

"Oh." Naruto didn't know what to think of that, so he changed the subject. "I only have one bed. We'll have to share again."

"I had not intended to sleep. This is not safe territory for me."

"Don't be ridiculous. We'll set a clone watch. _You _need to sleep. You may be able to go without, but it won't help your health, your eyes, or your awareness. All important."

Itachi bowed his head, accepting the logic and the implicit command. "I don't mind sharing. I slept fine last time." Actually, better than he usually did, something he didn't intend to say. Except that Naruto read him as well as Naruto always did and knew.

They unsealed food and ate quickly before bed. The next day, Naruto would be searching out various friends, wandering Konoha while they waited for Tsunade to push his resignation through.

Naruto's bed was small, so they started touching. They both slept through the night while a clone of each of them kept watch and woke tangled in each other, their position thoroughly compromised if an attack came. Of course, that mattered little, with their clones there to warn them and handle the first attack, if one came, and they both had abilities that wouldn't be compromised.

Again, they ate supplies from sealing scrolls. Naruto's kitchen was absolutely empty, since he'd been gone for years, and he had no intention of buying groceries when he'd only be there for a few days. They'd eat what they'd brought, in a restaurant, or take out.

After breakfast, Naruto frowned at Itachi. "I'm going to wander. I want to talk to Sakura first."

"Do you know what you're going to say to her?"

"Some hard truths and some misleading details. She wouldn't be able to keep it to herself if I told her I knew where Sasuke is. If she doesn't let me out of that promise, I'll fulfill it another time, when everything is settled and my allegiances can come out safely."

"That seems wise. I will guard you but will not interfere unless she attacks you."

Naruto winced, remembering far too many hits to his head and Sakura's temper, but knew this was outside his ability to give Itachi orders. Instead, he changed the subject. "Is your chakra still in my eyes?"

"Of course. Nothing has interfered. The only way to break the jutsu other than for me to remove my chakra would be for someone to use a genjutsu breaking technique on you."

Naruto nodded. "Then let's go."

A proper bodyguard, Itachi left the apartment first and checked the hall. "All right, clear," he said softly. When they were out on the streets, Itachi took a bodyguard's proper place at Naruto's heels. At the back of his mind, he kept a mild genjutsu prepared in case anyone got too suspicious. Itachi's disguise was hardly foolproof.

Naruto went by Sakura's house only to find that she'd moved out to an apartment she shared with Ino. She kept odd hours at the hospital and didn't like disturbing her parents.

Sakura answered the door and rushed forward to hug Naruto. "I am so glad to see you!" she said. "I was worried when Jiraiya came back without you, but Tsunade-sama wouldn't tell me what was going on."

"I'm fine," Naruto said. "Nothing bad happened to me. I was visiting with a cousin."

"You found family? Congratulations."

Naruto gently pushed Sakura away from him. "I need to talk to you. Is there somewhere private we can talk?"

"Ino's with her family today. Come in."

When Itachi followed Naruto in, Sakura frowned at him. "Who are you?" she demanded.

"I'm Raven," Itachi said quietly. "I'm assigned to bodyguard Naruto for his cousin until he's safe." He used the same altered voice he had with Tsunade, though Sakura had never met Itachi. Like Naruto, he was aware of the taint of poison he could never strip from his voice, but since he couldn't change it and doubted many other than Naruto could identify him solely from the taint, he didn't worry about it. "My orders require me to be present, but I will not interfere in your conversation as long as you are not a threat to my principal." He'd caught Naruto's nerves about the girl earlier and hoped to warn her off.

Naruto understood exactly what Itachi was trying to do and smiled briefly at him. "Raven's great," he told Sakura, "but he isn't what I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?" she asked.

"It's about Sasuke. I know I promised you I'd bring him back, but I found out that we can't."

"What? Why? What happened to Sasuke?" Sakura demanded, fully distracted from Itachi.

"He's under a death sentence."

"No, he's not!" she protested. "The Hokage promised!"

"He is. I wouldn't lie to you." Naruto handed her a copy of the order.

"No," Sakura whispered. "No." She dropped the order after little more than a glance and pushed past Naruto. "This can't be right!" She ran from the apartment.

Naruto stared after her, lost and a little guilty for hurting her, even if all he'd done was tell her the truth.

"We should go," Itachi said. "We shouldn't be here when she gets back."

"All right."

They spent the day wandering through Konoha, chatting with the people they ran into. They didn't see Sakura again.

The next day, the day they hoped would be Naruto's last full day in Konoha, they spent the morning the same way. That afternoon, they attended what most people thought was a welcome back party and what a very few knew was a goodbye party. Sakura didn't come, but the rest of the rookies and Team Gai were there. The mood was light and happy, so Naruto knew Sakura hadn't spoken about what he told her. Though he was worried about her, he was glad she hadn't told anyone what he told her.

Itachi, with compassion that only Naruto could or would expect of him, stuck to the shadows to let Naruto enjoy the evening with his friends. He was there, in case anything happened, but being more obtrusive would only remind Naruto of reality and distract him from enjoying the good will of his friends. Itachi might have worried that such a show of affection would work as the Hokage hoped and convince Naruto to change his mind about leaving, but he had come to understand Naruto fairly well. Naruto might regret leaving, but he'd made up his mind. For all that he was more emotional and impulsive than a ninja was 'supposed' to be, Itachi knew Naruto had thought about the decision carefully, weighed the consequences on both sides. He wouldn't turn back now.

The party was at Ramen Ichiraku, so when people dispersed, Naruto stayed back to have a final bowl of ramen and so people wouldn't notice him heading for the Hokage tower.

Shikamaru stayed slumped where he'd been sitting, seeming to have fallen asleep, but when everyone else was gone, he turned to Naruto with sharp eyes. "Where's your forehead protector, Naruto?"

Naruto laughed and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "It's in the Hokage's office. You know how she gets when someone calls her old." His act was perfect, but Shikamaru only narrowed his eyes.

"Why do you have a foreign ninja as a bodyguard?"

Naruto sighed and ran his hand through his hair while Itachi stepped out of the shadows to stand at Naruto's shoulder.

"What do you know?" Naruto asked Shikamaru bluntly.

"Know? Nothing. Suspect? You'll be gone tomorrow. This wasn't hello. It was goodbye.

"He's more than your bodyguard; he's your escort home. That's why someone assigned a ninja of his caliber to bodyguard duty."

"Are you going to tell anyone?" Naruto asked.

"No. I just want to know why. I wondered if you'd leave when you found out about the Kyuubi after graduation, but you never seemed to consider it. What changed while you were out of the village?"

Naruto considered Shikamaru for a long moment and glanced at Itachi.

"It is your decision, Naruto-sama. I am only your bodyguard."

Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes at hearing that honorific _again_ and at Itachi's lie, but he kept his focus on Shikamaru. "Sasuke's under a death sentence, and I'm never going to be promoted above genin. The lies and backstabbing were too much." He wouldn't tell Shikamaru about the other lies Itachi had revealed.

"I can't say I wouldn't do the same in your position," Shikamaru admitted. "I'll keep my mouth shut. Be careful. You have enemies, and this will make more." He looked at Itachi. "Protect him well."

"Of course," Itachi murmured.

Shikamaru got to his feet and headed for the street.

"Nara-san!" Itachi called. When Shikamaru turned back, he continued, "One error in your analysis. My assignment to Naruto-sama is not merely to escort him here and home. It is permanent."

Shikamaru took in that information, and his eyes narrowed. He understood some of the implications, at least; Naruto was incredibly valuable to whoever had assigned Raven to guard him. Shikamaru hadn't seen much of Raven, but he had observed how the guard moved and how well he disappeared into his chosen shadow. Shikamaru, who used and understood shadows, had also seen the level of Raven's focus on Naruto and his surroundings. If _anything_ had happened, Raven would have noticed. And handled it, Shikamaru was sure.

But Shikamaru asked no questions, made no comments. He nodded to both of them and left.

"Why tell him that?" Naruto asked.

"If he reports it, Konoha will know you are valued. They will have to be more careful trying to get you back. Several people have noticed that my skills are above the level of an average bodyguard, though they have no way to know exactly how good I am without seeing me fight."

Naruto snorted. If they knew exactly how dangerous 'Raven' was, they'd be astonished. No one would expect someone of Uchiha Itachi's level to be assigned to permanent bodyguard duty, no matter how valuable his principal.

"Let's go," Naruto said. "I want to talk to Tsunade."

They walked to the Hokage tower and had no trouble getting into Tsunade's office.

"Has my resignation gone through?" Naruto asked bluntly.

"Yes," Tsunade said. "You are officially a civilian resident of Konoha."

Naruto turned to the door, unable to stand the look on her face.

"Wait," she called. "There's someone you need to talk to before you go." It was a last ditch effort to convince him to stay, but she didn't expect it to work. Still, she had to try.

Reluctantly, Naruto turned back. Whoever she wanted him to see, it wouldn't be easy.

And when he saw Iruka walk into the office, he knew he was right. "Hello, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka studied Naruto carefully. "Tsunade-sama tells me you've made a decision."

Naruto winced and reached back for Itachi's hand, though he hoped Tsunade and Iruka wouldn't notice. Even if they did, the reassurance he felt when Itachi threaded their fingers together was worth it.

"I resigned as a shinobi of Konoha," Naruto admitted. "And I'm leaving the village."

Iruka nodded slowly. "Can you tell me why? What are you thinking?"

"Oh, sensei, there's a lot of reasons. I found out things about Konoha, secrets, that make it hard for me to stay here. More, I found a cousin. Well, he found me. I want to get to know him."

"Have you thought about this? Are you sure this is what you want? Once you've done this, you won't be able to come back. Even if you're leaving legally, you'll be targeted. And you already have people after you. Wouldn't you be safer here?"

Gesturing back at Itachi with his free hand, Naruto managed a smile. "My cousin knows. Raven is good. He is training and guarding me. And I won't have to watch my back from my own superiors there." He winced a little at the bitterness in his voice, but he _was _bitter about those secrets.

"Good enough to fight someone like Uchiha Itachi?" Tsunade asked. "That's who's after you."

Naruto glanced back at Itachi to hide any signs of laughter he couldn't suppress but also to signal that he wasn't sure quite how to answer. Itachi was the more gifted liar.

"With Naruto-sama's assistance, I believe we could fight even someone like Itachi with some success," Itachi said. "We could certainly hold him off long enough for backup to arrive."

Iruka nodded, but his focus stayed on Naruto. "Is this really what you want?"

"Yes. I'm sorry, and I'll miss you, but it is."

"All right," Iruka said. "If that is what you've decided, I'll support you. You have to promise to write."

"I will."

Naruto hugged Iruka, grateful his old teacher wasn't going to make this any harder.

"Are you leaving tonight?" Tsunade asked.

"Yes," Naruto said.

"I assume you don't intend to go through the gates."

"I don't think that's a question we should answer, Hokage-sama," Itachi said.

"I'm sorry, Baa-chan," Naruto said.

"No, don't apologize, brat. He's right. Go on and get out of here before someone comes up with something to stop you."

Naruto hugged her, too, but he left.

"I will keep him safe," Itachi said and followed, as was his job. He was Naruto's guard.

They used a hidden gate to get out of the village, one Itachi knew about from a long time ago.

Once they were outside the walls, they took off running. Though it was legal for Naruto to leave, they still thought they'd be pursued as soon as the council realized they were gone. Danzo, at least, would want Naruto back and had resources that didn't have to worry about the rules.

They only stopped running when they met up with Sasuke and Kisame near the border.

"How'd it go?" Sasuke asked.

"It wasn't easy, and I don't want to talk about it," Naruto said. "Let's get going. I want to get across the border."

By dawn, they were out of Hi no Kuni. Naruto wouldn't return for years, and he didn't regret leaving.


End file.
